The stock of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the country is still abundant, amid stagnating exports. In fact, the export faucet for masks and PPE has been opened since mid-2020, tackling the oversupply due to the high number of textile business players who have switched to producing these two Covid-19-related needs. One of the reasons for the sluggish export is the prolonged impact of unresolved logistical problems. Based on the supply-demand balance in the Medical Devices Monitoring Dashboard (DMA), the export volume of masks and PPE last year still leaves a wide gap with the amount of production and domestic needs.
PPE exports were recorded at 314.9 tons from a total production of 108,226.6 tons and domestic needs 3,721.8 tons. This means that there are still 104,184.90 tons of PPE stock. Similarly, exports of surgical gowns amounted to 1,680.9 tons out of a total production of 45,770,3 tons and domestic absorption of 1,499.4, so there is still a difference of 42,590.05 tons.
Meanwhile, the export of masks last year was only 144.8 tons of the total production of 14,820 tons and the national demand of 565.1 tons, so there are still 14,110.05 tons in stock.
"Not only for PPE actually, but for TPT [textiles and textile products] in general, shipping costs and limited containers are still an obstacle," said Director of Textile, Leather and Footwear at the Ministry of Industry, Elis Masitoh, recently.
Meanwhile, the balance sheet was still negative and filled with imports, namely N95 respirators and spundbond & metblown raw materials. Last year's imports of N95 masks were recorded at 48,885.9 tons, with domestic demand of 346.2 tons and production of 97.2 tons. Meanwhile, imports of spunbond & metblown in 2021 will be 50,634.5 tons with a demand of 10,872,645 tons and a production of 2,250 tons.
Secretary General of the Indonesian Filament Yarn and Fiber Association (APSyFI) Redma Gita Wirawasta said textile entrepreneurs had an unpleasant experience in the production of masks and PPE because of the tug of war on export regulations.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the government had banned the export of masks, PPE, and raw materials to secure domestic needs. The prohibition is contained in the Minister of Trade Regulation No. 34/2020 which was stipulated March 31, 2020.
At that time, many textile manufacturers shifted their production capacity to masks and PPE to cope with the lack of orders. The export faucet was only opened three months later through Minister of Trade Regulation No. 57/2020 which was set on June 16, 2020.
"In textiles, we don't talk about PPE anymore, because we are a bit traumatized, we have made a lot for the local market, but imports have been opened. Exports have also only been opened when we protested. Once the market has slowed down, exports are opened," said Redma.
