Textile exports expected to rise 10% this year<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo
\nestimated yesterday that exports of textiles and textile-related
\nproducts in 1996 would be worth US$6.8 billion, up 10 percent on
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Tunky said the textile industry was performing better,
\nparticularly its ability to use export quotas.<\/p>\n
\"Quota distribution and utilization by textile companies have
\ngot better in the last couple of months,\" Tunky said after
\nmeeting businesspeople from the industry.<\/p>\n
Exports of textiles and textile-related products exceeded
\nUS$6.2 billion last year -- or 13.66 percent of the country's
\ntotal exports -- compared with $5.8 billion for 1994.<\/p>\n
Between January and August last year, exports were worth $3.94
\nbillion. In the corresponding period of this year, they reached
\n$4.16 billion.<\/p>\n
Tunky said that, between January and November this year,
\nIndonesian textile producers used 74.96 percent of the quota
\nallocated by the United States, up from 63.89 percent in the same
\nperiod last year; 89.55 percent of the quota from the European
\nUnion, up from 75.79 percent; 52.43 percent of Canada's quota, up
\nfrom 50.18 percent; and 142.61 percent of Norway's quota, up from
\n102.12 percent.<\/p>\n
Between January and December 1995, they used 78.74 percent of
\ntheir quota from the United States, 90.3 percent from the
\nEuropean Union, 71.99 percent from Canada and 135.82 percent from
\nNorway.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Industry and Trade distributes export quotas
\nto textile producers which they use to export to the countries
\nwhich set the quotas.<\/p>\n
About 60 percent of exports of textiles and textile-related
\nproducts are under quota schemes.<\/p>\n
In recent years, export quotas have been regularly sold by the
\ncompanies receiving them.<\/p>\n
Analysts say the high price of the quotas and their uneven
\ndistribution by the ministry were among the reasons the country's
\ntextile industry was lagging.<\/p>\n
The ministry decided earlier this year to fine those selling
\ntextile-export quotas. It accused them of marring the performance
\nof textile exports by reducing textile producers' export
\nopportunities.<\/p>\n
The government announced in September it would reduce its
\ntextile export target from $12 billion to $10 billion a year by
\nthe end of the Sixth Five Year Development Plan, which ends in
\n1999.<\/p>\n
The director general of foreign trade, Anang Fuad Rivai, said
\nyesterday that export quotas \"should not be seen as a commercial
\ncommodity, but as a facility that must be used\".<\/p>\n
He said the government had issued a rule in July which
\nstipulated that unused quotas could be returned to the ministry.<\/p>\n
In September, the government ruled that companies which had
\nnot returned their unused quotas must report their export plans.<\/p>\n
\"If these two rulings are ignored, the government will cancel
\nquotas after warning a company three times,\" Anang said.<\/p>\n
Anang said Indonesia had swapped part of its unused quota from
\nSingapore for other categories.<\/p>\n
As part of the deal, Indonesia obtained quotas for 2.8 million
\ntextile pieces and textile-related products. (pwn)<\/p>",
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