Textile giant PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) now has to face the threat of delisting because the sale of its shares has been suspended for almost two years. The suspension of Sritex stock trading began when the company defaulted on its short-term debts. The public is also made to wonder, how is the condition of the textile industry now that one of the giants has failed to pay its debts? The textile and apparel industry was once the prima donna and mainstay of Indonesia's exports. However, the Asian Crisis in 1998 made the grip on the textile industry loosen. The economic downturn, lack of investment, and the pace of imports took a hit to the industry.

Referring to Encouraging the Performance of the Textile and Textile Product Industry, the textile and textile product (TPT) industry has continued to experience ups and downs since the 1998 crisis. The industry had recorded growth of up to 15.35% in 2019 after contracting in 2015 and growing low in the 2016 period.

The textile industry has experienced a great shock again after the pandemic hit the world. In 2020, the textile industry contracted 8.88% while in 2021 it weakened 4.08%.

However, the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) assesses that the textile industry still has great potential. The textile industry still contributed to exports of US$ 10.63 billion in 2020. This figure only decreased slightly compared to 2019 (US$ 12.89 billion). The textile industry also still absorbs 4 million workers.

Currently, there are around 22 yarn companies, 300 spinning companies, and 1,400 sewing companies driving the Indonesian textile industry. The textile and apparel industry itself is divided into three, namely upstream, midstream, and downstream. The upstream industrial sector is a sector that produces fiber and yarn.

The intermediate industrial sector (midstream) is an industry that produces fabrics and downstream which produces finished goods for community consumption, including garments that process finished fabrics into apparel, both knitted and woven fabrics.

Director of Textiles, Leather and Footwear of the Ministry of Industry Elis Masitoh said the textile industry has positive prospects this year. The economic recovery and the relaxation of mobility have made the demand for textile products increase.

The impact of Lebaran is also believed to boost the performance of the textile industry. The reason is, this year is the first year in which the government allows people to celebrate Lebaran lively and allows going home. The economic recovery and the impact of Lebaran made the utilization of the textile industry soar.

"Eid greatly affects the textile industry, especially for the apparel industry. Demand has increased quite well. Utilization for the apparel industry in April reached 90 percent," said Elis.

Not only does it stop at Eid al-Fitr, the demand for apparel is believed to remain high in the coming months due to the new school season until the Eid al-Adha celebration which falls in July 2022. The global economic recovery is also believed to boost exports of the textile industry.

"For the second quarter of this year there is still hope in the Eid al-Adha session and also the new school year where educational activities from kindergarten, elementary, and college will run normally. Some countries have started to return to normal and container and freight prices have started to gradually fall," he added.

Secretary General of the Indonesian Fiber and Filament Yarn Producers Association (APSyFI) Redma Gita Wirawasta said the growth of the textile industry which reached 12.45% (year on year / yoy) in the first quarter of this year was far above expectations.

"My expectation is to grow 5-10%. The growth is driven by the entry of investment after last year's groundbreaking," said Redma.

He added that the Lebaran moment really helped the growth of the textile industry this year because the demand for fashion products was soaring. The Mandiri Spending Index noted that fashion and jewelry spending was the highest type of spending during Ramadan during the pandemic era. The proportion of spending on fashion products stood at 14.1% in May or equal to the pre-pandemic level (14.1%).