More textile firms want to export to quota marts

JAKARTA (JP): The number of textile companies seeking the government's approval to export to countries imposing import quotas continues to increase, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

The director of exports for manufactured and mining products, Sudar SA, said the companies were encouraged by the fact that exports to countries with import quotas had not been affected by the economic crisis.

The number of textile and textile-related producers which registered at the ministry to obtain a license to export to quota countries rose to 1,800 this year from about 700 in 1998, he said.

He said textile producers had to register with his office to benefit from the export quotas of the United States and the European Union.

Companies which fail to register with the ministry are only allowed to export their products to countries which do not impose quotas, he said.

Sudar said companies were more interested in exporting to countries which imposed quotas because they were larger markets.

"Countries that do no impose quotas are also promising markets, but they only absorb about 40 percent of our total exports," he said.

Sudar said the export of textile and textile-related products to countries with quotas grew during the economic crisis, while the export of goods such as shoes and electronics dropped.

He said the government was upbeat the country's textile and textile-related exports would meet the US$6 billion target set for the year.

This target is somewhat pessimistic compared to a recent forecast by the Indonesian Textile Association, which predicted the country's export of textile and textile-related products would reach $8 billion for the year.

Indonesia exported $7.8 billion of textile and textile-related products in 1998 and $7.3 billion in 1997.

The economic crisis which hit the country in mid-1997 has encouraged textile producers to seek more offshore markets for their products.

Indonesia's textile exports reached 130 countries this year, compared to 85 countries in 1990.

The largest markets for Indonesian textiles are Europe, with an annual textile trade of $50 billion, and the United States with $47.7 billion in annual trade. (cst)