Aussie told to buy RI textile

Aussie told to buy RI textile

BANDUNG (JP): Indonesian textile producers have asked
Australian businessmen to buy more textiles and related products
in a bid to improve trade between the two countries.

Lili Asdjudireja, the chairman of the West Java branch of
Indonesian Textile Association (API), said here on Tuesday that
Indonesian textile companies, which import most of its cotton
from Australia, should be given more access to sell their
products in the neighboring country.

Speaking at a meeting with the visiting delegation of the
Australian Cotton Shipper Association (ACSA), Lili said the value
of cotton imports from Australia reached US$339 million in the
1998/1999 fiscal year, much higher than the $121 million worth of
textile products exported to the neighboring country.

Australian cotton fulfilled 50 percent of Indonesia's total
cotton needs, Lili said. In 1998 Indonesia purchased one-third of
the Australian cotton production.

"Only the East Timor conflict caused a significant drop," he
said. (25/sur)