The Indonesian association of leather tanning companies (APKI) has reported a large drop in exports over the last three years. The association said that exports in leather products fell by 69.6 per cent to US$170 million compared with exports of $312 million in 1997.

Exports of raw leather are being blamed by the association. Chairman Diono Heningsasmito said that since the government lifted a ban on the export of raw leather the leather processing industry has suffered due to a scarcity of raw materials.

The high value of the US dollar since 1997 has meant exports of raw leather have boomed. The situation has worsened recently because of the Indonesian government’s policy of banning imports of livestock and animal husbandry products from countries that have cases of foot-and-mouth disease.