Indonesia's footwear industry has the potential to significantly boost the nation's economy, according to Riefky Yuswandi, Secretary of the Directorate General of Small and Medium Industries at the Ministry of Industry. As of the second quarter of 2024, the industry grew by 3.92% compared to the same period last year. During the Indonesia Footwear Creative Competition (IFCC) in Surabaya, Yuswandi cited the 2023 World Footwear Yearbook, which ranked Indonesia among the top five global footwear producers, with 807 million pairs manufactured last year. Approximately 55% of this production, or 445 million pairs, were exported, demonstrating Indonesia's significant productivity. Yuswandi projected that footwear exports this year could surpass the US$6.4 billion achieved in 2023, with exports reaching US$3.7 billion from January to June alone.
Despite the strong export market, Yuswandi noted that the domestic market potential remains underutilized. Only 362 million pairs were sold domestically, averaging just one or two pairs per person annually in a population of 282 million. To address this, Yuswandi emphasized the need for innovation to tap into the domestic market. He also highlighted the Ministry of Industry's machinery restructuring program, which offers a 25% reimbursement on imported machines and 40% on locally made machines to support local creative industries, including footwear.
