The textile and textile product (TPT) industry said it still hopes that there will be regional technical regulations that allow factories to operate fully.

This is because the textile industry is currently included in the essential sector, which is only allowed to operate at half its capacity or 50 percent, while many manufacturers have to pursue export targets.

Secretary General of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) Rizal Tanzil Rakhman said his party still hopes that the proposal to become a critical sector can be accepted at this time. However, his party assesses that there are no significant signs that allow textile manufacturers to operate 100 percent.

"We are still waiting for technical regulations, although we hope that the Delta [Covid-19] variant will not drag on. Currently, there are many pending export orders, so we ask that TPT from upstream to downstream can operate again," he said.

Rizal said the textile manufacturers were also committed to maintaining strict health protocols with a minimum target of 90 percent of employee vaccines.

On the other hand, Rizal also highlighted a number of officials who often have different interpretations of existing regulations. Not to mention, the meaning of each new sentence in the PPKM rules is a new issue that the industry must discuss instead of focusing on production activities. Secretary

The General of the Indonesian Filament Yarn and Fiber Producers Association (APSyFI) Redma Gita Wirawasta directly regretted the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic of the West Java regional government (Pemda), especially in the supervision of the Operational Permit and Mobility of Industrial Activities (IOMKI).

"So yesterday in West Java, for example, in a day there were three shifts, the factory had already reduced half of the count of three shifts, which means that one shift was only 33 percent, right, so they asked for two more, even though in Banten it was still okay," he said

Redma also highlighted that in terms of vaccination, the West Java Regional Government has not yet intensively opened centers for the community.

Redma said that his party also has a production unit that deals with chemical substances. That is, if you have to reduce employees again than what has been regulated, it will be dangerous.

As a result, manufacturers prefer to stop production altogether rather than endanger workers. Moreover, many buyers also stop production considering that it is not included in the essential sector.

"Actually, we also have some that are critical but only specifically for suppliers of raw materials such as PPE and masks. So two weeks ago, utilization still fell below 20 percent," he said.

According to Redma, of course, if the PPKM extension will be carried out until August, many producers will reduce production again. The reason is, normal stock only lasts two weeks, while currently the stock has reached three weeks to one month.