Textile And Footwear Exports Strengthen, APINDO Values Government Policy Encourages Industrial Confidence

JAKARTA - The Textile and Textile Product (TPT) sector and national footwear began to show positive activity in 2025. After the last two years facing global market pressure and tight competition from imported products, industry players are now starting to look at recovery with new optimism.

Export performance is one of the important indicators of this revival. Throughout January 'August 2025, the export value of TPT was recorded at 8.01 billion US dollars, up slightly 0.24 percent compared to the same period last year which amounted to 7.98 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, footwear exports grew much faster, reaching 5.16 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.89 percent from the previous year's achievement (4.61 billion US dollars).

In total, the combined exports of the two sectors managed to penetrate 13.17 billion US dollars, growing 4.51 percent compared to the same period in 2024 (12.59 billion US dollars). This positive performance shows that Indonesia's manufacturing product competitiveness is starting to strengthen again in the international market.

In addition to higher exports, the level of industrial utilization has also increased gradually. In 2024, the average textile industry utilization was at 56.88 percent, up to 58.16 percent in the first quarter of 2025, and again increased to 59.09 percent in the second quarter of 2025. The clothing industry recorded a utilization of 73.99 percent, while the footwear industry reached 80.21 percent in the first semester of 2025 -- becoming one of the sub-sectors with the best performance.

The Head of the Trade Division of the Indonesian Employers' Association (APINDO), Anne Patricia Sutanto, assessed that the increase in exports and production capacity indicated the recovery of industry players after going through difficult times due to global pressure and heavy flow of imports.

This positive trend shows that Indonesia's TPT and footwear industry is again competitive. Business actors are starting to dare to increase production because the export market is starting to recover and government policies are increasingly supportive," said Anne in Jakarta, Monday, October 6.

Anne also assessed that the increase in employment in several months showed a positive trend. In addition, in order to maintain balance and the availability of raw materials, new inventory is needed for the upstream industry so that the needs of domestic industrial raw materials are available in the local market.

APINDO melihat kebijakan ini cukup tepat sasaran. Industri tetap memiliki akses bahan baku untuk memenuhi permintaan ekspor, tetapi pada saat yang yang sama produk dalam negeri juga dilindungi dari tekanan impor berlebihan," jelasnya.

Furthermore, Anne emphasized that the success of maintaining the stability of the TPT and footwear industry has not only had an impact on export performance, but also on employment and sustainability of investment in the labor-intensive sector.

This sector has an important role in providing jobs and increasing country foreign exchange. We are optimistic, with consistent policy support, the TPT and footwear industry will continue to grow and become an important pillar of national economic recovery," he concluded.