According to data from the Indonesian Footwear Association (Asosiasi Persepatuan Indonesia, or Aprisindo), domestic sales of Indonesian footwear fell 20% year on year to IDR4.8 trillion ($393 million) in the third quarter of 2014.
Exports of Indonesian footwear declined also, yet in terms of value they increased due to a sluggish rupiah against the US dollar.
Indonesia is in the top six of the world’s leading footwear exporters, with $3.86 billion worth of leather footwear exports last year.
Aprisindo chairman Eddy Widjanarko said project delays, shifting cabinet ministers re-prioritising government programmes and reduced footwear imports from China caused the drop of footwear sales in Indonesia.
Looking ahead to next year provides little certainty and Widjanarko couldn’t provide anything definitive yet as the industry waits for new ministerial programmes to take shape.
