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The European Commission's decision recently to restrict shoe
imports from major shoe producers China and Vietnam has given Indonesia
an opportunity to increase its share of the European footwear market.
Eddy Widjanarko, the chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association,
said Wednesday in Jakarta that with the cuts in European shoe imports
from these two countries, Indonesia could increase its footwear exports
to the European Union by 20 percent to US$1.7 billion this year.
Last year, Indonesia's footwear exports to the EU rose by about 6
percent to $1.42 billion from $1.32 billion the previous year. The
less-than-hoped-for increase was due to tight competition from Chinese
and Vietnamese manufacturers.
The EU imposed antidumping sanctions against Chinese and Vietnamese
footwear products in April by reducing their export quotas to the
region by about 20 percent.
"The measure gives us a better chance of increasing our share of the
European shoe market," he said on the sidelines of Indonesia's first
international leather and footwear exhibition at the Jakarta
International Expo center.
According to Eddy, the European Commission will review the antidumping
measures in October or November to allow both China and Vietnam to
defend their positions. But, if the two countries fail to prove that
they have not violated antidumping rules, they could face five years of
import restrictions.
In 2005, the value of China's and Vietnam's footwear exports to the EU
stood at $5 billion and $2 billion, respectively.
"In the first semester, China shipped 210 million pairs of shoes to the
EU out of its total footwear exports of 250 million pairs," he said.
According to Eddy's estimate, China's total footwear exports to the EU
could have reached 500 million pairs this year if the EU had not
imposed its antidumping measures.
However, he added, Indonesia was not assured of a free run in replacing
China's and Vietnam's shoe exports as there was a possibility that the
two countries could transship their products to the EU through third
countries.
The European Commission has warned that if Chinese footwear products
were exported to the EU using documents from third countries, such as
Indonesia, these countries could also face antidumping sanctions.
"So, the government must take steps to prevent transshipment," he said.
The director general of textile and metal industries, Anshari Bukhari,
said that besides the government's determination to prevent
transshipment, footwear manufacturers also needed to improve the
quality of their products.
"Buyers want good quality products at low prices," he said.
In 2005, Indonesia exported 34.4 percent of its footwear products to
the United States, 33.2 percent to the EU and the rest to Mexico, Japan
and a number of other countries.
Indonesia's total footwear exports increased to 275 million pairs in
2005 from 223 million pairs in 2004.
Currently, Indonesia has 100 large footwear factories in Jakarta, West
Java, Banten, Central Java and South Sulawesi, employing around 6000
workers.
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