The Indonesian textile industry is deemed necessary to make fundamental changes in order to remain competitive in the global market.
Rayon Asia Pacific Director Basrie Kamba said the textile sector is a very vital industry in Indonesia. He considered, if the textile sector is to regain its glory, there needs to be a fundamental change in government policy.
"The change is primarily a trade regime that encourages imports. Industry also needs urgent support in the form of energy subsidies to remain competitive and tax relief, "he said on the Indonesia Economic Forum entitled " Emerging Trends in Global Trade"
He considered that there is still hope in the future for the fast-growing middle class domestic market in Indonesia as a great opportunity for textile producers.
"Currently, Indonesian textile players are also investing in new materials such as polyester which provide added value to the industry to add to the industry and the economy as a whole," Basrie said.
Meanwhile, General Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) Jemmy Kartiwa said to reform domestic industrial policies, it is necessary to concern production costs and increase competitiveness in the market.
He assessed that the Indonesian textile industry has an urgent need to cut production costs in order to compete in the market, especially during the decline in people's lower purchasing power due to Covid-19.
“In recent years we can see a lack of policies that regulate and control key commodities and the fact that the internet dominates Indonesia's domestic market, allowing great importance with regard to the other side related to standard prices or key commodities which are not only imported in large quantities, major commodities are also. sold locally at very low and even lower prices, "he said.
President Director of Asia Pacific Fibers and Chairman of APSyFi Ravi Shankar said that currently, the growth of the textile industry contributes 3 percent to Indonesia's GDP.
"However, with export figures of US $ 12 billion and imports of US $ 9.4 billion. We can see that most of our competitors, such as India and China, have a better trade balance than Indonesia, "he said
According to him, this shows that Indonesia's textile sector has experienced a decline. Especially now that imports have increased and exports have a stagnant growth rate.
"We have seen opportunities for revitalization. There are three main drivers, namely import substitution, encouraging exports, and optimization of the domestic market. That is the potential we have so that we can push policies to be more competitive, "he continued.
