TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Trade Ministry is optimistic that Indonesia will reach the target of being the world’s Muslim Fashion Capital in 2020. Indonesia has a huge market with 87.2 percent of its muslim residents and a data shows that export figure of Indonesian muslim fashion is rocketing following local fashion grow.

Trade Ministry Acting Director General of National Agency for Export Development (PEN) Tjahya Widyanti said the whole fashion industry in Indonesia has grew 8.15 percent in the past five years. "The export figure is also increasing," said Tjahya Thursday, May 19, 2016. Local fashion product’s export in January increased 3.87 percent compared to the same period last year.

The improvement also happened to muslim fashion’s export which in 2014 has reached US$4.63 billion figure, or 2,3 percent higher than the previous year’s. The figure has slightly down to US$4.57 billion last year, yet the trend has turned positive of 2.13 percent in January 2016 compared to the same period last year from US$366.2 million into US$374 million.

Tjahya said government is optimistic to reach the target with the high spending of the world’s muslim consumers. Thomson Reuters data in State of Global Islamic Economy 2015 shows the spending figure reached US$230 billion for clothes and shoes. The amount was 11 percent of the world’s total spending for clothes and it will keep raising to US$322 billion in 2018.

Currently, export destinations of Indonesian muslim fashion products include the U.S., Japan, German, Korea, the UK, Australia, Canada, Uni Arab Emirate, Belgium, and China. Indonesia ranks five in the list of country with the highest muslim fashion consumer in the world with the figure of US$12,69 billion in 2014. The other four highest consumers are Turkey (US$24.84 billion), Uni Arab Emirate (US$18.24 billion), Nigeria (US$14.99 billion), and Saudi Arabia (US$14.73 billion).

Tjahya said that the Trade Ministry will hold an exhibition dubbed Muslim Fashion Festival 2016 (MUFFEST) to support the 2020 target. This program is initiated by Indonesian Fashion Chamber (IFC) and PT Ditali Cipta Kreatif who are collaborating with Hijaber’s Mom Community (HMC). The agenda which will be held on May 25-29, 2016 in Plaza Senayan, Jakarta, will present some 200 Indonesian fashion designers.

SELFY MOMONGAN