The Indonesian Textile Association (API) stated that as much as 70% of the sales of the textile industry in Indonesia rely on the domestic market. The rest is the export market with a contribution of around 30%. This was stated by the Chairperson of the Indonesian Textile Association, Jemmy Kartiwa Sastraatmadja on Monday (13/3/2023) through a virtual interview. "The domestic market is the main focus of the national TPT (Textile and Textile Products) industry," said Jemmy. According to him, the Indonesian textile market is also eyed by foreign textile producers. This is supported by the promising Indonesian clothing market with high purchasing power.

Jemmy also revealed that exports of domestic textile production are aimed at the United States and several European countries. However, the number of textile exports in Indonesia is still relatively small and not very large for the income of domestic textile producers.

He said the market for local textile production was disrupted due to the rampant import of used clothes in various regions in Indonesia. Even though the Indonesian government has implemented a ban on the import of used goods and clothing, sales of used clothing are still rife in various regions in Indonesia.

Rules prohibiting the import of used clothing are contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) Number 40 of 2022 concerning Export Prohibited Goods and Import Prohibited Goods. This regulation is a revision of the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 18 of 2021 concerning Export Prohibited Goods and Import Prohibited Goods.

The Indonesian Textile Association hopes that the government will be firm in implementing the ban on imported used clothing. This is because the import of used clothing has a negative impact on the ecosystem of the textile industry in Indonesia.

Researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Andry Satrio Nugroho also encouraged the government not only to issue import ban rules, but also to support local textile producers so that the domestic textile industry remains enthusiastic.

"Not only stopping imports of used clothing products which may be synonymous with thrifting, but encouraging how the domestic industry can also compete with these used clothes or industries from outside Indonesia so not only to stop but also support how the domestic textile and finished product industry can continue to exist," concluded Andry.