TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The growth of textile and textile product industry is predicted to resurge since the export market and domestic needs are increasing. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said the government invites the textile entrepreneurs to meet the domestic needs since the available opportunities cannot be fulfilled by the producers.

The entrepreneurs, instead, choose to export, seeing the new opportunity as a result of the trade war between the United States and China. “We are encouraging the new generation to do the business expansion,” Enggar said on Friday, September 14.

The minister said that the Indonesian textile industry is advancing. “Indonesia’s [textile] growth is extraordinary,” he said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association of West Java (API Jabar) Ade Sudrajat said the global demand to increase exports of textiles and textile products increased five percent in 2017 and increased eight percent in 2018.

The current target is to meet domestic needs up to 100 percent and to reach the export value of US$30 billion.

Ade said the number of textile demand per capita increased two kilograms from 4.5 to 6.5 kilograms. However, in the domestic market, it is only reached 60 million Indonesians, the rest are still being imported.

The access to the textile market and textile products currently still depends on traditional markets, namely the United States and the European Union. “Starting in 2020, we encourage to export with a workforce of tens of millions of people and the textiles will be designed in a more creatively and innovatively,” said Ade.

Deputy Chairman of the foreign trade division at the Indonesian Textile Association, Anne Patricia Sutanto, said that the Indonesian textile and textile products industry's revenue was only US$13 billion. Through the new roadmap, the revenue target for 2025-2035 is set at US$30-50 billion.

ANWAR SISWADI