In 2025, Vietnam became France’s leading footwear supplier for the first time, whilst China sold shoes worth nearly €9 billion to the European Union. Tracking the origins of the pairs of shoes Europe buys is the most direct way to understand who sets prices, timelines and risks for a market that accounts for half the value of footwear imported worldwide.
On 14 April 2026, Alliance France Cuir, which represents the French leather industry, published the foreign trade figures for the previous year. One line item changed the rankings. In 2025, Vietnam was France’s leading supplier of footwear by value, ahead of Italy and China. This had never happened before. Philippe Gilbert, who heads the association’s economic observatory, explains: ‘The stability of imports confirms that a phase of normalisation has begun following the very strong post-Covid growth. At the same time, Vietnam is establishing itself as the world’s leading manufacturing hub, supported by trade agreements that strengthen its role in international value chains.’
A CONTINENT THAT CONSUMES MORE FOOTWEAR THAN IT PRODUCES
The French case is significant because Europe is the world’s largest customer. According to APICCAPS’ World Footwear Yearbook 2026, in 2025 Europe manufactured 2.1 per cent of the pairs produced worldwide and consumed 13.6 per cent of those pairs. The difference comes from abroad. The continent accounts for 35.3 per cent of the pairs imported globally and 52.4 per cent of their value, at the highest average price: $18.73 per pair.
This is why imports are not merely an item on the balance of trade. If Europe manufactures just over one in seven of the pairs it consumes, the price of those shoes becomes the yardstick by which buyers and consumers gauge the market. A pair imported into Germany in the first half of 2026 cost an average of €16.72 at the border. Those who manufacture in Europe sell on the same shelf and must justify the price difference: through materials, quality, shorter delivery times, service and brand name. Not everyone is competing on the same price point. A luxury shoe does not compete with a €16 Asian trainer, but a mid-range European shoe does, every season. When the price of imports falls, as is happening in 2026, that gap widens, and it becomes harder to explain to shoppers.
CHINA AND VIETNAM: 16 BILLION BETWEEN THEM
Eurostat figures updated as at 16 October 2026 highlight the two heavyweights. In 2025, the European Union imported footwear and parts thereof from China worth 8.98 billion euros, 6.1 per cent more than in 2024. Imports from Vietnam totalled 7.06 billion. Per kilo, Chinese goods are worth an average of 13.1 euros, whilst Vietnamese goods are worth 23.5: almost double.
2025 was a year of accumulation. According to the trade association HDS/L, 737.5 million pairs entered Germany, an increase of 10.5 per cent. In Italy, the figure was 376.8 million, 32.6 million more than in 2024, with imports from the Far East rising by 33.6 per cent. The ‘ ’ Research Centre of Confindustria Accessori Moda attributes this to commercial operations and new logistics centres, rather than consumer spending.
Key figures
€8.98 billion: EU imports of footwear and parts from China (2025, Eurostat)
€7.06 billion: EU imports from Vietnam (2025, Eurostat)
52.4 per cent: Europe’s share of global import value (2025, APICCAPS)
-3.2 per cent: average price per pair imported into Germany (first half of 2026, HDS/L)
IN 2026, FEWER PAIRS ARE IMPORTED, AND THEY COST LESS
Following a year of growth, 2026 is heading in the opposite direction. In the first half of the year, Germany – Europe’s leading importer – imported 366 million pairs, 6.8 per cent fewer than in the same period of 2025. In Spain, between January and July, the number of pairs imported fell by 4.7 per cent, according to the FICE federation. In France, the first half of the year ended with a 7 per cent decline in value.
The key figure, however, is not how many shoes are imported but how much they cost. In Germany, the value of imports fell by 9.8 per cent, more than the volume. This means that, on average, each pair arrived at the border at a lower price: 16.72 euros, 3.2 per cent less than a year earlier. In Spain, the average price fell to €12.69 per pair, down 3.3 per cent.
There are two explanations for this, and they go hand in hand. The first concerns the type of shoes. In Germany, imports of shoes with leather uppers fell by 16.5% over the six-month period, whilst those with fabric uppers fell by just 1.4%. If fewer leather shoes – which cost more – are imported, the average price falls even without any supplier having adjusted their price list.
The second concerns the prices themselves. Since spring 2025, Brussels has been monitoring imports to intercept goods which, held back by US tariffs, might otherwise have flooded the European market. In June 2026, when presenting the new import barometer, the European Commission shifted its focus: ‘Since spring 2025, the trade landscape has changed, as tariffs have been reduced and, with them, the incentive to divert trade flows. At the same time, the main concern of European industry has shifted from the effects of trade diversion to the rise in imports driven by industrial overcapacity.’ Put simply: the problem is no longer goods diverted from the United States, but those produced in excess – particularly in Asia – and sold in Europe at lower prices. In the textiles, clothing and leather sector, the barometer shows that 116 out of 902 customs codes have seen rising imports and falling prices: it is the second-most affected sector after machinery.
Meanwhile, the supplier landscape is also shifting. In Germany, China still accounts for 42.4 per cent of imported pairs, but Vietnam has lost 13 per cent and Indonesia 7.1 per cent, whilst Myanmar (+7.9 per cent) and India (+12.8 per cent) are on the rise.
Finally, let us consider the rules, which are pulling in two directions. On the one hand, they affect the most cost-effective channel – that of online platforms which ship directly to the consumer: from 1 July 2026, parcels worth less than 150 euros will be subject to a duty of 3 euros per product category, and a 2-euro handling fee is expected in November. On the other hand, they open up new avenues for manufacturers. Currently, a pair of shoes entering the EU from a country with which it has no agreement may be subject to a duty of up to 17 per cent. The agreement with India, concluded on 27 January 2026, provides for the immediate elimination of European duties on Indian footwear, according to New Delhi, with entry into force expected in 2027. The agreement with Indonesia is set to come into force in the same year. For consumers, this difference has a significant impact on the cost of each pair.
In France, Vietnam’s rise to the top is already factored into the 2025 accounts. Elsewhere in Europe, the key figure to watch is another: the price per pair.
All these developments had already been evident at Riva del Garda. At the 105th edition of Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags, in June 2026, Vietnam exhibited for the first time, alongside Tunisia and South Africa, and a Vietnamese delegation was among the visitors.
Exhibitors came from 44 countries: China 34.5 per cent, Italy 17 per cent, Turkey 10.6 per cent, India 9.4 per cent – the very same country which, according to German data from 2026, is growing faster than other Asian suppliers. In January 2027, we shall see whether the layout of the exhibition halls continues to mirror that of customs zones and whether trade fairs will still be the best barometer for assessing market changes.
