Textile exporting countries such as China and Bangladesh have shifted their sales objectives to Indonesia due to sluggish market demand in the United States and the European Union. This condition has made the textile industry and textile products or TPT in Indonesia worse off. Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association or API, Jemmy Kartiwa Sastraatmaja, said that the apparel or garment industry in Indonesia mostly supplies its products for export. The industry takes orders for major brands in the United States and the European Union.

However, currently the demand for exports to the US and Europe is low due to high inflation. As a result, the focus of the textile industry and textile products today is domestic or domestic articles.

"But make no mistake, TPT exporting countries such as China and Bangladesh are also targeting the Indonesian market, due to disruption of their orders due to decreased demand in Europe and the US," he said, Wednesday (1 /3).

Thus, the local industry must compete with imported products from China to Bangladesh. According to Jemmy, currently these imported products have controlled 30% of the Indonesian market. The Apparel Industry Experiencing Contraction The Industrial Confidence Index or IKI in the textile, apparel and footwear sector is still experiencing contraction. Even though as a whole, the February 2023 IKI was in the expansion phase with an achievement of 52.32. This figure has consistently increased since November 2022.

IKI February 2023 showed a significant increase in the value of expansion of 0.78 points compared to January 2023. Director of the Textile, Leather and Footwear Industry, Adie Rochmanto Pandiangan, the textile, apparel and footwear industries experienced a contraction due to economic stagnation and inflation in the country main export partner. To overcome this, his party is trying to expand foreign markets by accelerating the implementation of the IEU-CEPA agreement.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry is also coordinating with the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs regarding the issue of illegal imports and increasing supervision of imported goods down to the smallest port, preparing a barrier for TPT products, and proposing additional articles on the obligation for business actors to include registration numbers for K3L and NPB or SNI goods on its electronic trading display for TPT and Footwear products. This is in accordance with the Minister of Trade Regulation 26/2021.

"The Ministry of Industry is also trying to re-implement the Machinery/equipment Restructuring Program in 2023, and provide intensive materials for the TPT industry," said Adie.

According to a report from the Central Statistics Agency, Indonesia imported 2.20 million tons of textiles and textile products in 2021. This number increased by 21.1% compared to the previous year's 1.82 million tons. The biggest imported clothes in Indonesia come from China. It was recorded that the total textile and textile products imported from the country were 990.20 thousand tonnes.