General Chair of the Indonesian Shoe Association (Aprisindo) Eddy Widjanarko said that his party received many complaints from shoe manufacturers regarding government policies regarding the Prohibition of Fabric Imports. As for the impact, entrepreneurs admit that it is difficult to obtain imported raw materials to make shoes. For your information, the ban on imports of cloth is as stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia (PMK) Number 78/PMK.010/2021 concerning Amendments to Regulation of the Minister of Finance Number 55/PMK.010/2020 concerning the Imposition of Safeguard Measure Import Duty on the Import of Fabric Products.

Eddy said the government's goal of banning imports was one of them so that textiles in the country could progress. However, he said, the reality is the opposite.

"Every regulation has two sides, which can be good and bad. The bad thing is that all shoe factories complain because with the textile ban, it is very difficult to import raw materials for shoes," said Eddy at the Indo Leather & Footwear Expo 2023 at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. Center, Thursday (3/8).

He explained, imitation leather which is the raw material for making shoes actually has three layers. Includes, PU or Polyurethane which is a plastic element that can be embossed and modified in a shape resembling leather.

"Then, in the middle is foam, but in the last layer there must be textiles. So they can't import bags, shoes, or furniture for the sofas," he explained.

On that basis, Eddy suggested to the Government to be able to carry out an evaluation regarding the cloth import ban policy. Apart from causing problems with imports, the policy also did not have much effect on the domestic textile and garment industry to be more advanced.

"This is what I want to convey to the Minister (Airlangga Hartarto) that the textile import policy must be re-evaluated. The aim is good, because the (domestic) textile and garment factories can progress. But in reality, it is not progressing. Even in In some areas, there are lots of used clothes," he said.

  However, Eddy revealed that to this day the raw materials used by shoe factories in Indonesia still come from imports. It's just that he admitted that the import licensing process is not easy and takes a long time.

In fact, usually, said Eddy, it is easy to obtain permits if the shoes produced are intended for the export market. Therefore, on the other hand, his party continues to encourage a number of countries such as Taiwan and China to be able to invest in raw materials in the country.

"Usually we import fabrics with the aim of exporting it is indeed easy. But with the decision to block textile products, the documentation of import duties and so on has become more complicated," he stated.

For your information, the ban on cloth imports has been officially stipulated since 2021 by the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. These rules are contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia (PMK) Number 78/PMK.010/2021 concerning Amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Finance Number 55/PMK.010/2020 concerning the Imposition of Safeguard Measure Import Duty on Imports of Fabric Products.