World footwear production is recovering after periods of economic turmoil in Asia, Russia, Central Europe and South America, according to SATRA. This is the key conclusion of the latest issue of World Footwear Markets now in its 25th edition and also available as a CD ROM.

World Footwear Markets 2001 reveals that:

* World production has returned to a growth rate of 4% a year after a period of very low growth caused by economic turmoil in some regions

* China’s share of world production has now passed 51% with Asia’s share overall increasing to 74%

* The USA remains the top importer with a new high of 95% of domestic footwear consumption being imported

* In western Europe footwear production has generally declined with Italy and the UK as notable examples with reductions of 10% and 24% respectively.