Indonesia's textile exports to reach $7.45b this year
Indonesia's textile exports to reach $7.45b this year
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Textile Association has predicted
that exports of the country's textile and textile products will
rise about 2 percent to US$7.45 billion this year from $7.3
billion last year.
The association's secretary general, Irwandy Muslim, said over
the weekend that the economic crisis at home had encouraged
textile producers to seek more offshore markets for their
products.
Indonesia's textile exports had reached 130 countries this
year, compared to 85 countries in 1990, he said.
Irwandy said the improving performance of textile exports
proved that the industry was not a "sunset" industry as some
experts tended to label it.
"You see the textile industry is one of those in Indonesia
which has managed to survive the economic turmoil," Irwandy said.
Irwandy even predicted that Indonesia's textile exports could
reach between $10 billion to $12 billion after the turn of the
century.
Exports of textile and textile products made a showing again
in 1996 after slumping in the early to mid-1990s. Exports of
these products surged from $5.7 billion in 1994 to $6 billion in
1995 and $6.5 billion in 1996.
The most important markets for textiles are Europe, with an
annual textile trade of $50 billion, and the United States with
$47.7 billion.
"In addition, there are also potential markets such as
Thailand, Korea, Turkey and others," Irwandy said.
Despite its handsome export performance, textile firms, like
any other export firms in the country, face hindrances in
exporting their products, especially from the ailing banking
system.
The collapse of the Indonesian banking sector had caused
locally-issued letters of credit to be rejected by foreign banks.
As a result, textile firms could not get their raw materials on
time.
The government's tight money policy with high interest rates
has limited the capability of textile firms to make new
investments and to support exports.
Some other problems, Irwandy said, were the poor development
of the chemical industry, less productive human resources and a
choking exit tax on people traveling abroad.
Irwandy again called on the government to ease all those
problems for the textile industry as it had become one of the
country's foreign exchange earners.
Besides, the textile and textile-related industry employs
about 3.5 million workers and provides a living to another 2.5
million people, such as those working as textile vendors at
traditional markets. (29)