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TEMPO/Expensive Yogya Batik Hampers Exports
In October 2010, batik exports was only 0.50 million kilogram with a value of US$ 2,92 million. In 2009, its volume was only 0,14 million kilogram with a value of US$ 0,63 million. “Frankly, (batik) can not be sold abroad,” said Endang.
In China, people are actually interested in batik. However, because of its expensive price, only the middle-upper class buy it. “They know batik’s unique quality, because it is expensive, it becomes unattainable,” he said.
The head of the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesia Textile Association, Jadin C. Djamaludin, said that Yogya batik is different from batik from other regions, such as Solo or Pekalongan, which use many print techniques. A batik craftsperson from Yogya uses wax and canting (small dip) technique. “Printed batik in Yogya comes from other regions,” he said.
Jadin said there should be a batik labeling and certification process to differentiate between traditional and printed batik as well as to apply batik product standardization.
ANANG ZAKARIA
