Ceara gets on board of footwear production

Heading for development, the state aims the improvement of its industries in order to be inserted, more and more, in the segment and be established as a producer competitive pole.

In spite of a tradition already consolidated in the segment, Ceara have been more and more in the spotlight of the footwear industry. It is not in vain that such state was chosen as seat of the 12th National Seminar of the Footwear Industry, which the main subject was “Alternatives for Brazilian Footwear”, occurred in May 8 and 9, in Fortaleza.
We can say that one of the essential questions of a new age for this state was the conquest of leadership, in the beginning of the year, of the ranking of the biggest footwear exporters of the country, surpassing Rio Grande do Sul in number of pairs sent to foreign countries. However, the mean value for exported pair is still below the south state, and this fact can be explained considering the high quantity of synthetic footwear produced in Ceara.
            The numbers could be alarming and target of critics from the leather segment, if the leather industry from Ceara is all right. In the first 2008 bimester, it was registered a production increase of 78.3% regarding to the same period of the last year.
            Aiming to discuss and clarify these and other information about the footwear-leather segment from Ceara, the Courobusiness magazine interviewed the president of the Agency of Development of the State of Ceara (Adece), Antonio Balhman.              Balhmann is career employee of the Brazilian Service of Support to Micro and Small Companies (Sebrae), in which he used to work for more than 30 years, and he also occupied the Presidency of the Deliberative Council of Sebrae from Ceara. Between 1989 and 1994, he participated in Ceara Government, at first as Industry and Trade secretary and then as Industry, Trade and Tourism secretary. Balhmann has exercised mandate of federal deputy between 1995 and 1999.

COUROBUSINESS: Currently, Ceara is on the top of the national ranking of footwear export. Only in February, it was registered the shipping of 7.4 millions of pairs, against 6.5 millions from Rio Grande do Sul, in the second place. How was this trajectory and what has contributed for such result?

Antônio Balhmann: Ten years ago, the State has initiated a long process of atraction of new investments, privileging the reception of companies which were strategically interested in being established and stay in Ceara, generating jobs and income for those who live in Ceara. Undoubtedly, the footwear segment was one of the segments which has got most sesibilized with the challenge of descentering production from South/ Southeast line. From the beging fo the 90’s, the first great footwear factories came to Ceara, attracted by the incentive and, above all, by the natural vocation of the workmanship from Ceara to the activity. Besides, it is important to remember that Ceara has developed an advanced logistics for footwear export, through the Port Complex of Pecem, considering that Ceara is geografically located nearer the european market, to where a big part of Ceara footwear production is exported.

COUROBUSINESS: Ceara is considered a Stated of which main footwear products are flip-flops, sandals and plastic or rubber footwear, and this situation can be seen at the difference between the mean values for exported pair (US$ 4.47 against US$ 18.73 from Rio Grande do Sul, in the first place in value). Is there an space, and specially interest, in the growth of leather footwear production in such context?

Antônio Balhmann: Undoubtedly, Ceara is interested in increasing its footwear productin profile. Because, in this State, we have qualified workmanship for working with this kind of product, in addition to good quality raw material, bovine and carpine hides for example, processed by tanneries placed in this State. However, it is necessary to remember that there are already some footwear companies installed in Ceara, which work exclusivelly with hide products, and so the gouvernment can reassure the interest of keep supporting the growth of this footwear segment.

COUROBUSINESS: It is interesting to remark that, between January and February, there was an increase of 20.48% in the exported footwear value, in spite of the register of a reduction of 19.73% in quantity. How can you analyse these statistics? And how is the internal marketing absorption?

Antônio Balhmann: The production for exporting footwear from Ceara is focused on local requests, principally for Europe, Ásia and United States, where products must have higher added value, and which reflects mean price of the exported footwear. In respect of internal market, production is oriented to serve Northeast and Southeast requests.

COUROBUSINESS: Brazilian Northeast has been considered as the new target of industries migration, looking for cheap workmanship and low taxes. What are the main results of these incentives regarding to the installation of industries of the footwear-leather segment?

Antônio Balhmann: Specially in the case of Ceara, our investments atraction policy is higher and more exigent with companies installed here. Our main propccupation is not about industries quantity only, but also about the capacity of job and income generation that these investors can bring to Ceara's economy, in addition to the commital level that they will establish with the government and the society of Ceara. We want perennial partners, which can help us to fortify the Stade in mean and long term, whcih can contribute to the consolidation of our economy in a longstanding way. Footwear segment is a practical example of a partnership that succeeded, which generated the concretion of a pole of the segment out of the South/ Southeast line and the creation of roots of the segment in Ceara.

COUROBUSINESS: The hide export increased in 78.3% in the first bimester of 2008 as regards the same period of the last year. In 2005, the director of Sindcouros/CE, Cândido Couto Filho, said that the growth, in that period, was due to the installation of a great company of the segment, and that these numbers did not indicate the return of the industry of local improvement. The corrent scene is still like that? What has been done in order to support exports os local industries?

Antônio Balhmann: Ceara is looking for creating all the necessary conditions for the development of the productive segment, specially regarding to the increasing of its infrastructure, such as the strengthening of the Port Complex of Pecem, the building and maintenance of the state roads, the increasing of the distribution of water and electric power, in addition to to the qualification of local workmanship. The footwear-leather segment is also being favored by the improvement of the infrastructure, the result can be observed on the increasing of the segment's exports. On the other hand, the qualification of great industries of the segment in the last few years represents the success of the investment atraction policy of the State of Ceara.

COUROBUSINESS: What are the challenges that still need to be faced so that the footwear-leather industry keep growing in Ceara?

The government had an important dialogue with the productive segments, always looking for identify problems and assertions of every economy segment of Ceara. Thus, Ceara government is creating the called Segment Chambers, for the most representative segments of Ceara's production. The members of the productive chains of each segment will have an institutional oportunity for dialogue with the participation of the government, which will assure an expressive improvement on their relations. In respect of the footwear-leather segment, it is necessary that the entrepreneurs keep improving professional qualities of the segment, while the government play its part, supporting good projects, in addition to provide orientation and technical support.