According to the Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers (Abicalçados), from January to October 2005, imports of Chinese footwear to Brazil rose 67.8% in value terms to $64,1 million (70% of the country's total footwear imports), and 101.2% in terms of volume to 11.6 million pairs, compared with the same period in 2004.

Professor Ênio Klein, a consultant to Abicalçados, explained that the main reason for the increase was that Chinese shoes are sold at prices that are 50% lower than their Brazilian equivalents. However, according to Professor Klein, other factors that favour imports are the low US dollar exchange rate and the fact that importers into Brazil and exporters in China use fraudulent methods such as under-invoicing, in order to reduce the amount of tax paid including the 35% import duty.