Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan stated that the export performance of Indonesia's textile and textile products (TPT) trade was positive during the first half of 2022 which further strengthened Indonesia's position to become one of the textile exporters to be reckoned with in the world. Zulkifli explained that the value of textile exports during January-May 2022 had reached USD 5 billion, an increase of 22% compared to the same period the previous year. This positive achievement also supports Indonesia's trade surplus until June 2022.

"In the midst of the global economic recovery, we should be grateful and proud of Indonesia's trade performance in June 2022, where Indonesia managed to record a surplus of USD 5.09 billion," said Zulkifli, in his remarks at the Gala Dinner and Customer Gathering held by the Asia Pacific Rayon ( APR) entitled "From Plantation to Fashion in Sustainable Way", in Jakarta, (11/08/2022) night.

At that moment, Zulkifli also appreciated APR's contribution as a producer of sustainable rayon fiber to the development of Indonesian textiles which also supports efforts to recover the Indonesian economy and the global economy.

"We feel that this activity is very timely in order to support efforts to recover the Indonesian economy and also the global economy. We also see that tonight's Galla Dinner, which involves many APR customers, is a form of APR's contribution and role in supporting the improvement of Indonesia's export performance," said Zulkifli.

Currently, Zulkifli said Indonesia's position is 15th as the world's largest textile exporter with a market share of 1.58%. He emphasized that the government is paying attention to making the textile industry sustainable in several ways, one of which is developing an industrial ecosystem for the fiber industry in several industrial areas.

On the same occasion, Director of Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) Basrie Kamba explained that the trend of Indonesia's dependence on imports of rayon fiber has decreased in line with the operation of the sustainable rayon fiber producer since 2019.

In 2012, Indonesia was recorded to have imported 107,000 rayon fibers to meet domestic needs. Ten years later, imports of rayon fiber are now down by 75%, around 26,000 tons per year. On the other hand, the export trend of rayon fiber was also recorded to increase. In 2012, Indonesia was recorded to have exported 184,000 tons of rayon fiber and continued to climb to close to 400,000 tons per year in 2021.

To answer the prospective demand for viscose, Basrie said APR also plans to increase its production capacity which currently reaches 300,000 tons per year to 600,000 tons per year. Currently, APR's viscose rayon fiber itself has been marketed to more than 20 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the United States to Egypt.

"Indonesia is more than ready to meet the domestic market to encourage the use of raw materials not only made in the country, but also renewable, biodegradable textile raw materials which are important raw materials in sustainable fashion," said Basrie.

Since operating in 2019, APR has continued to affirm its commitment to sustainability by launching the APR2030 commitment. One of them, APR is committed to being at the forefront of running a clean and closed-loop production process in the Indonesian textile industry.

"APR2030 is about how we contribute to our shared future, support the Indonesian government in achieving its national climate and development targets, and partner with communities to find new ways to make progress in the field of sustainable development," said Basrie.