Textile entrepreneurs in the country are again complaining about the rise of imported used clothes entering the country. Moreover, these clothes are suspected of illegally entering Indonesian territory. Deputy Chairperson for Labor and Development of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) Nurdin Setiawan asked the government to strictly supervise and take action. Nurdin said, the illegal import mode of clothing had been going on for a long time. However, he complained, the government was never completely eradicate the action.

"There should be supervision from the government through these institutions to supervise and take action. But this has been going on for a long time," said Nurdin, Thursday (5/1/2023).

"Illegal imports have been going on for a long time, you can't find the perpetrators. This is what we hope for the relevant institutions that have the authority to supervise and take action against illegal imports, especially on used clothes, this must be dealt with immediately, don't allow it," he snapped.

Meanwhile, he continued, the domestic textile industry is facing pressure due to a decrease in orders from the export market. With the onslaught of illegally imported clothes, he said, it added to the burden faced by the domestic industry.

"When this is allowed, yes, we already have a problem with the export market. We want to rise in the domestic market, but we cannot develop because we have to compete with imported products whose prices are much cheaper than our products, because they don't pay taxes," he said.

"With the export market being 30%, the hope is that the domestic market will be 70%, we want protection from the government. Supervision and stopping illegal imports that are currently flooding the domestic market," concluded Nurdin.