The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) assesses that the national textile industry will still be quite challenging throughout 2023. As is well known, the textile industry sub-sector is one of the sub-sectors that has experienced a contraction based on June 2023 Industrial Confidence Index (IKI) data. Adie Rochmanto Pandiangan, Director of Industry, Textiles, Leather and Footwear at the Ministry of Industry, said the textile industry, especially for apparel products, had actually started to show improved performance recently. In the records of the Ministry of Industry, the volume of apparel exports increased on a monthly basis from 21.9 million tonnes in April 2023 to 32.5 million tonnes in May 2023. In terms of value, exports of apparel grew from US$ 480.2 million in April 2023 to US$ $700.7 million.

"There is a gap for apparel exports to the United States market by taking advantage of the trade war situation," he said in a June 2023 IKI presentation at the Ministry of Industry Building, Tuesday (27/6).

In addition, the performance of the textile industry, especially apparel, was also driven by increasing domestic market demand, especially for school clothes as the school year changed.

Apparel retailers are also competing to finish their remaining product stocks from the Idul Fitri season and then towards the school holidays.

Unfortunately, the textile industry is still overwhelmed by the threat of imported goods, thereby reducing the effect of increased domestic demand.

Adie said that apparel imports in May 2023 reached 133,000 tons, an increase from the previous month's import realization of 106,000 tons. Such conditions have resulted in part of the ready-to-wear stock owned by local textile producers not being maximally absorbed in the market.

On the same occasion, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Febri Antoni Arif, said that in general the national textile industry is still quite challenging this year due to the rampant import of illegal textile products.

In fact, according to information obtained by the Ministry of Industry, Febri said that the imported textile products entered through bonded logistics centers (PLB) in several regions of the country. Not enough, illegal textile products from abroad are also found in various online marketplaces.

This phenomenon clearly makes it difficult for local textile industry players to compete in the domestic market, so that their performance decreases.

"We have asked other ministries that are in charge of activities at bonded logistics centers and marketplaces to further tighten supervision of imported goods entering Indonesia," said Febri.