Shoemakers optimistic on export target
Shoemakers optimistic on export target
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo)
is optimistic in meeting its target of US$2 billion from exports
this year with a surge expected after September.
Aprisindo secretary-general Djimanto said exports for the
first six months of the year reached $631.2 million, up from $500
million during the same period in 1999.
"Exports will boom after September for Christmas, New Year,
back-to-school trends and approaching the change of seasons," he
told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Indonesia exported 57.4 million pairs of shoes in the first
semester of 2000, compared to 100.81 million pairs throughout all
of last year, Djimanto said, adding that export destinations
include the United States, Australia, Japan, Africa, and Europe.
Djimanto warned success in meeting the target would depend
largely on the stability of Indonesia's economic and political
situation, as well as improved security and labor practices.
Shoe exports plunged during the height of the economic crises
to $1.2 billion in 1998, from $1.6 billion in 1997 and a record
of $2.2 billion in 1996. In 1999, exports recovered to $1.7
billion.
Aprisindo has 87 active members who produce top-line models
such as Nike, Reebok, Fila and Adidas.
In spite of the booming exports, local producers are facing
stiff competition from cheaper Chinese imports in the domestic
market.
Djimanto said the industry in late 1999 was forced to cut down
on production capacity by 20 percent from a maximum of 2.9
trillion pairs a year and laid off some 2,000 workers.
Djimanto downplayed the possibility of dumping practices by
Chinese manufacturers, noting that Chinese shoes were also very
competitive in international markets.
"Shoes made in China could be sold at 60 percent the normal
wholesale price," he said.
Chinese-made shoes were cheaper because of lower labor costs,
and because most of its raw materials were supplied locally,
Djimanto said, adding that Chinese companies also enjoyed lower
interest rates and a stabler currency.
Indonesian shoe producers, he added, still had to import 60
percent of their raw materials.
Djimanto, however, said that some of the cheap Chinese shoes
could have been smuggled in by importers in collusion with
customs officials.
"There are importers who claimed to import partly made shoes,
when actually they were bringing in wholly made shoes, so the tax
they had to pay would be lower.
"There are also officials who do not check documents or the
contents of the containers used to bring the products in, but
take for granted that everything is in order," Djimanto said.
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