The COVID-19 Pandemic Destroys The National Textile Industry, Which Is Minus 4.54 Percent

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry said that the industry and product textile (TPT) was one of the industries that were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the growth rate of TPT has decreased to minus 4.54 percent.

The Director-General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Textile Industries of the Ministry of Industry Muhammad Khayam explained that the contribution of labor-intensive industries which are included in the national strategic industry category also decreased to 6.07 percent.

Even so, Khayam said he was still optimistic that the national TPT could recover from the pressures and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Several industries that have a fairly severe impact are the textile industry, which is marked by its growth rate of minus 4.54 percent", he said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, August 12.

Khayam said the textile industry could recover soon if the pandemic began to be resolved in the country. This is based on the performance of the textile industry in the second quarter of 2021, which increased by 0.84 percent compared to the previous quarter.

In terms of exports and TPT investment also continues to experience growth. Khayam said that TPT exports from January to June 2021 also increased by 13 percent, to US $5.87 billion.

"In terms of investment, there is also good growth. With an investment value of IDR 3.5 trillion or an increase of 27 percent", he said.

With the huge potential of the textile industry, said Khayam, the government has designated it as one of the national strategic industries. In addition to being able to contribute quite a lot of foreign exchange, TPT can also absorb a large number of workers.

"This industry is a foreign exchange earner with an estimated export value of US $10.55 billion in 2020 and absorbs 3.43 million workers", he said.