The textile and textile products (TPT) industry is considered to be able to recover from Covid-19 for a longer time than other industries.The Oxford Economics Global Industry Outlook predicts that the textile industry in a number of developed countries such as the United States, Europe, Japan and China will recover the fastest in 2023.
The textile and textile products (TPT) industry is considered to be able to recover from Covid-19 for a longer time than other industries.
Oxford Economics's Global Industry Outlook also predicts a number of developed countries such as the United States, Europe, Japan and China to experience the same thing, with the fastest recovery predicted in 2023.
Director of Industry, Tourism and Creative Economy of the Ministry of National Development Planning / Bappenas, Leonardo A. A. Teguh Sambodo, said that apart from the main thing due to purchasing power, the textile industry is also closely related to people's lifestyles or lifestyles. Where during this pandemic the entire community put a brake on consumption and tourism.
"Clothing is a sizeable additional tourism consumption structure, therefore the recovery of the textile industry is a separate concern because it has bigger challenges," he said.
Leonardo said that in line with this, export activities and labor issues still overshadow the industry. As a result, last year the textile industry recorded the highest number of unemployed compared to other industries.
Referring to BPS data, the garment or apparel industry experienced a reduction in the workforce of up to 351,388 people or minus 13.11 percent of the previous total workforce. Not only that, the textile industry also experienced a decline of 183,302 people or minus 14.4 percent. As a result, a total of 534,000 TPT workers were laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Related industries, namely the leather industry, leather goods and footwear, were also recorded as the second largest after the garment industry with regard to layoffs, which contributed up to 212,009 people.
On the other hand, Leonardo said that another important thing that must be addressed in the textile industry is that productivity is still relatively low compared to other industries.
The productivity of the textile industry is currently still 0.19 percent, while other labor-intensive industries are already above that, namely the food and beverage industry reaching 0.31 percent, the tobacco and plastic goods processing industry reaching 0.30 percent, and the furniture industry at 0,21 percent. In fact, at the same time the level of wages in the textile industry is increasing every year.
