Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for Industry Bobby Gafur Umar asked the government to act decisively to overcome the flood of imported products in the domestic market. Moreover, he said, the current conditions are getting tougher, with the uncertainty of the global economy. "The threat of a global recession is real. We focus on the domestic market. With the TKDN (domestic content level) obligation for APBD / APBN projects worth IDR 1,060 trillion. Substitution of imported raw materials and imported products with domestic products," said Bobby Gafur, quoted Friday (28/10/2022).

"The government must be firm with the policy (policy) to maintain the domestic market for Indonesian products. Such as the problems that occur in the textile industry," he added.

He said that currently the Indonesian textile and textile products (TPT) sector is facing pressure due to a decline in orders in the export and domestic markets.

"Export orders have decreased in the range of 20-30%. Textile exporting countries such as China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam are trying new markets. One of them is Indonesia which has a population of 237 million people," explained Bobbu Gafur.

"The local market has begun to be attacked by imported products in the last few months. So that the domestic market which is usually filled by local producers has begun to be taken over by imported textile products," he said.

For that, he asked the government to be firm.

Not to mention, the current conditions are not favorable for the textile sector.

Upstream utilization of TPT RI, he said, was at the lowest level in the last 5 years.

"Used clothes that should be prohibited from entering, are also widely sold domestically. The implementation of strict policies to protect the domestic market is urgently needed," said Bobby Gafur.

Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) Jemmy Kartiwa Sastraatmadja said the same thing.

"World textile producers are looking for new markets to overcome unemployment in their countries," said Jemmy.

"We must defend the domestic market by prioritizing the supply chain for domestic industrial needs. By suppressing imports, prioritizing supply from local upstream players for domestic downstream industries. We must do this in this period of recovery," he added.

Moreover, he added, the textile sector is a labor-intensive industry that is very vulnerable. Where, the competitiveness of Indonesian textiles is easier to shake due to the global economy when compared to other textile producing countries.

Meanwhile, Bobby admitted, the domestic industry has actually made efficiency due to the current global economic condition.

"Like the reduction in working hours has begun. With the decline in economic growth and increasingly limited opportunities for growth, he continued, the threat of layoffs cannot be avoided," concluded Bobby Gafur.