Among the sub-sectors of the textile and textile products (TPT) industry, jeans or denim fabric manufacturers are among those that are difficult to develop. Chairman of the Indonesian Fiber, Yarn and Filament Association (APSyFI) Redma Gita Wirawasta said the main reason was the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Pakistan since 2013. "With this Kakistan, we have PTA. The industry that is affected is the denim industry. So now our denim is not developing," said Redma, Friday (22/4/2022). He explained denim fabric made from cotton. While Pakistan is one of the largest cotton producers in the world with a production volume of about 3.5 million tons per year. While Pakistan has a competitive supply of raw materials, Indonesia must import cotton from the United States.

"They have cotton, we don't have it, they have to import it, so the denim industry cannot develop," he said.

In addition to the Indonesia-Pakistan PTA, the two countries are also involved in similar agreements with Developing 8 or D8 countries that have been running since 2011. Its members include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey, Nigeria, and Iran.

Among the D8 members who are Indonesia's competitors is Bangladesh with its superior garment industry. Recently, the government issued a stipulation of PTA import duty tariffs among D8 countries through Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) No.57/2022.

The Director of Textiles, Leather and Footwear at the Ministry of Industry, Elis Masitoh, previously said that the regulation of import duty rates had actually been in effect since 2011. The new regulation is a revision with the entry into force of the 2022 Indonesian Customs Tariff Book (BTKI).

"After researching that for TPT, there are only 4 HS Code of fabrics. So it was anticipated from the beginning that TPT commodities from our competitor countries in D8 such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Nigeria were anticipated," he said.

Meanwhile, Elis projects that the textile industry will grow 3.5 percent in the first semester of 2022, driven by the momentum of Lebaran and the opening of homecoming. Year-on-year (YoY) growth in the first quarter of 2022 is projected to be 2.94 percent, followed by a second quarter of 4.12 percent. Meanwhile, quarter-to-quarter growth in the second quarter of 2022 is estimated at 1.63 percent.