Selling Knitwear into Latin America: A Buyer's Guide

By YZR Sweaters · 2026-10

We have shipped knitwear into Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia for years, and the buyers who struggle are almost never struggling with the product. They struggle with three things: they planned the season backwards, they shipped labels in English, or they worked out their landed cost without the local tax layer. All three are avoidable. This is what we tell buyers before their first Latin American order.

Three very different markets behind one label

• Mexico. Northern hemisphere, US-aligned seasons, strong department and chain retail (Liverpool, Suburbia, Coppel), a large domestic apparel industry and a customs regime that is formal but well-trodden. For most importers this is the easiest entry point.
• Brazil. Southern hemisphere, the biggest consumer market in the region, and the most tax-complex. Retail runs through Renner, C&A, Riachuelo and a large independent boutique layer. Import duty and state-level taxes make landed cost very different from FOB.
• The Southern Cone and the Andes. Chile is relatively open and straightforward; Argentina is volatile on currency and import licensing; Peru and Colombia are year-round light-knitwear markets because the weather is driven by altitude and latitude rather than by season.

One specific trap: do not ship alpaca knitwear to Peru. Peru has its own alpaca industry and its own retail identity around it. We have talked buyers out of this more than once.

Get the season right before anything else

This is the mistake that costs a full year. Winter in São Paulo, Santiago and Buenos Aires runs roughly June to September, which means autumn deliveries land in roughly February to April and spring/summer goods land around September to November — the mirror image of a Europe- or US-facing programme.

• Southern Cone: plan and sample on the northern calendar but produce and ship on the reversed one. If you are already running a northern winter programme, your southern winter bulk lands exactly when your northern line is being sold through — which is a capacity question as much as a calendar one. Our notes on southern hemisphere buying cover the scheduling in detail.
• Mexico: runs with the northern calendar. Winter goods land September to November.
• Andean and tropical markets: year-round demand for fine-gauge cotton and viscose knits, with less deep-winter volume. See our guide to the tropical knitwear market for the construction logic, which transfers well to Bogotá and Lima.

What actually sells

Across the region the strongest categories are lighter than most European buyers expect:

• Fine-gauge cotton and cotton-viscose knits — 12GG to 14GG, for layering rather than for insulation.
• Trans-seasonal cardigans and vests that work in air-conditioned offices and on cool evenings.
• Mid-weight wool blends for the Southern Cone winter, but nothing like the chunky gauges that sell in northern Europe.
• Colour. The region sustains stronger, warmer colour than the Nordic or Japanese markets. Muted greige programmes that work in Germany underperform here.

Practical note on product mix: Brazil has a strong domestic knitwear industry, so imported programmes need a design or quality reason to exist. Mexico is more open to imported fashion knit at mid price points.

Sizing and fit

Do not assume your US or EU block transfers:

• Brazilian sizing runs smaller than US and UK sizing at the same nominal size, and Brazilian consumers expect a closer fit. If you ship a US block and relabel it, expect fit complaints.
• Mexican sizing is closer to US sizing but not identical, and the same garment often needs a separate size set.
• Size naming is local: P / M / G / GG in Brazil, and Spanish equivalents in the rest of the region. Our guide to size naming explains why the printed size has to match the local convention.
• Grade for the market. Build the size set from local measurements rather than grading a foreign block — the same discipline described in our sizing and grading guide.

Labelling: language and local standards

English labels are the single most common compliance failure we see on Latin American orders. Requirements differ by country, but the consistent themes are:

• Mexico requires Spanish-language commercial information on textile products under the NOM labelling standard for apparel — fibre composition, care instructions, country of origin, and the importer's details. Expect the label to be checked at import.
• Brazil requires Portuguese composition and care labelling, with textile labelling administered through INMETRO. Composition must be stated in Portuguese fibre names.
• Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina all expect Spanish labelling, with country of origin and importer identification.
• Care symbols still matter. Even where the country does not mandate a specific symbol set, retailers do. Our overview of care labelling rules is the right starting point, and the fibre content wording should follow the same discipline as fibre content labelling — accurate generic fibre names, correct percentages.

Order local-language labels at the same time as the bulk, not after. Retrofitting labels into finished goods is a rework job with a real cost and a real delay.

Duty, tax and landed cost

This is where programmes succeed or fail. The pattern across the region is that FOB is a small part of the landed number:

• Brazil combines an import duty on apparel in the region of 35% with ICMS (state VAT), IPI and federal contributions. The effective tax load is substantial, and it is the reason Brazilian buyers plan on a much higher retail multiple than a European buyer would.
• Mexico applies apparel duties that have been raised in recent years for non-FTA origins — commonly quoted in the 25% to 35% range — plus 16% VAT. Mexico has free trade agreements with many countries, but not with China, so Chinese-origin knitwear does not benefit from preferential duty.
• Chile is comparatively open, with a low ad valorem duty on apparel plus 19% VAT, which is why Chile often works as the region's distribution entry point.
• Colombia and Peru sit higher than Chile on duty, with VAT around 19% and 18% respectively.

Treat every figure above as a planning estimate, not a quote. Rates change by decree and by HS classification, and the correct number for your specific product is the one your broker confirms against the current tariff. What matters structurally is this: build your landed cost with duty, VAT, freight, customs broker fees and local distribution before you commit to a retail price. Our guide to HS codes and duties and the notes on reducing import duty cover the mechanics.

Customs and import mechanics

The paperwork burden is heavier than in the US or EU, and it is front-loaded:

• Brazil: importing companies need registration in the RADAR system, shipments are declared through Siscomex, and clearance is normally handled by a licensed customs broker (despachante aduaneiro). Build this relationship before your first container sails.
• Mexico: importers must be in the national importers' registry and clear through a customs broker (agente aduanal), with a pedimento filed per shipment.
• Documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, and — where applicable — the certificates your retailer demands. Our checklist of shipping documents covers what a clean set looks like.
• Valuation: under-declaring to reduce duty is not a strategy in this region. Penalties are severe and clearance delays are long.

Logistics: transit times and moisture

From South China, expect roughly 30 to 45 days to Manzanillo or Lazaro Cardenas, and 35 to 50 days to Santos, Callao or Buenos Aires, depending on routing and transhipment. Two things follow from that:

• Add the transit to your calendar, not to your production time. A reversed Southern Cone season plus a 45-day sail means your production slot is earlier than intuition suggests.
• Humidity and mould risk is real on long tropical routings. Carton specification, desiccant and container stuffing matter more here than on a northern Europe route — see our notes on mould and mildew in shipping and on container loading.

Payment and currency

Currency volatility in Brazil and Argentina is a genuine commercial risk, and it changes how you should structure terms. For new relationships in the region we recommend a deposit against order and balance before shipment, with the currency of the contract stated explicitly. Where a buyer wants open terms, a letter of credit is the safer instrument. Our guide to payment terms covers the trade-offs, and the notes on FX risk explain why a fixed USD price with a long payment window is not the neutral choice it looks like.

YZR Sweaters produces OEM/ODM knitwear in Dongguan for importers and brands across Latin America, at flexible MOQ and with the labelling, packing and documentation the region requires. We supply Spanish and Portuguese care and composition labels, carton and packing lists prepared for your broker, and we will flag a labelling or documentation gap before it reaches customs. Our partner factories hold BSCI, SEDEX and Oeko-Tex certification and welcome audits, and we support third-party inspection through SGS or BV before shipment.

Frequently asked questions