Illegal foreign footwear products concern Aprisindo

Illegal foreign footwear products concern Aprisindo

JAKARTA (JP): Footwear industry executives are warning of mass
layoffs if the government fails to curb the influx of illegal
footwear from abroad.

It is estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 workers in the
footwear industry could soon be laid off every month if
restrictions are not tightened.

Anthon Tardia, chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association
(Aprisindo) forecasts one dismissal per footwear firm each time
the company decreases daily production by three pairs of shoes or
five pairs of sandals.

He claimed that dozens of labor-intensive footwear industries
in Greater Jakarta and East Java have reduced production levels
following large inflows of low-priced footwear in major cities
like Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan, North Sumatra, over the last
three months.

"Many footwear companies in Greater Jakarta, Bandung and
Surabaya have laid off employees after deciding to decrease their
production due to the spread of illegal sandals and shoes in
local markets," he said on Wednesday.

He claimed that between February and April a total of 800,000
pairs of sandals and shoes, entering illegally from countries
like China, were traded freely in Surabaya, Medan and Jakarta.

The association has several times filed complaints to the
Directorate General of Tax and Excise but no hard measures have
been taken to curb the smuggling.

It has effected not only the local footwear industry but also
worsened the unemployment problem and caused material losses to
the government, he added. (rms)