Many Import Batik Found In Domestic Market, Ministry Of Industry Says This

Batik illustration made by an ethnic Miao girl, China. (Photo: Special).

JAKARTA - The issue of imported batik or batik-motivated cloth is a challenge in itself for the domestic industry.

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) does not deny that imported batik products are found in the domestic market.

Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, Alexandra Arri Cahyani, said that batik-motivated cloth imported from abroad is actually not batik. According to him, education is needed to inform the public about this.

"Indeed, a lot of batik printing (imports) have been found. Indeed, we are trying to educate, yes," said Alexandra at the Ministry of Industry Building, Jakarta, Monday, July 28.

Alexandra also explained that batik products are made by writing and stamping them. While most imported products are printed from machines, so they are considered not batik products.

"What we consider batik to be only stamps and write or modified stamps and write. So, maybe batik-bantik imports, that's mostly printing, it's not batik," said Alexandra.

"So, it cannot be equated if it is batik cap and write it. We really encourage to be able to do it locally and it is usually rarely imitated, yes," he continued.

Previously, the Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said, it was possible that China could produce batik.

He suspects that there may be batik imports originating from the Bamboo Curtain country.

In addition, it is possible that the import of batik from China is not a real batik motif.

"(China can produce batik, printed batik?) Yes. (Import batik coming from China?) It could be. (Actually it's not batik, maybe it's just a cloth in the batik motif that could be?) It could be," he explained when met at the Kota Kasablanka Mall, South Jakarta, quoted Thursday, October 3, 2024.

Agus pun menekankan harus ada perlindungan untuk industri tekstil dan produk tekstil (TPT).

Menurutnya, harus ada kebijakan yang berpihak pada industri dalam negeri, termasuk batik.

Agus also emphasized that there must be protection for the textile and textile (TPT) industry.

According to him, there must be policies that favor the domestic industry, including batik.