Export Value Reaches IDR 7.5 Trillion, Minister Of Industry Agus Gumiwang Encourages Young People To Enter The Batik Industry

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (Photo: Screenshot of the Ministry of Industry's Youtube)

JAKARTA - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita encourages young people to be involved in the domestic batik industry. This is because the commercial value of these products is quite large and has the potential to become an important contributor to the national economy.

In his notes, the achievement of batik exports throughout 2020 was USD 532.7 million or approximately IDR 7.5 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 14.230).

"The batik industry has played an important role in the national economy and we are a successful market leader in the world batik market," he said during the webinar for the National Batik Day Commemoration, Wednesday, October 6.

According to the Minister of Industry, the opportunity to enter the sector which is full of cultural values is quite wide open. This is because many of the national batik business actors have entered their old age. In addition, this sector also needs a touch of technology in optimizing its business activities.

"We view that there needs to be serious efforts to accelerate the regeneration of batik in Indonesia. Of course, this must be intensified in the younger generation by growing their interest and skills to enter the batik industry,” he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of Industry revealed that the government had taken a number of strategic steps to realize this.

"The Ministry of Industry itself, through the Center for Crafts and Batik, continues to carry out various activities such as education, design development, and promotion so that the development of Indonesian batik has global competitiveness and is in demand by the market," he said.

In addition to promising potential, this sector, called the Minister of Industry, is mostly initiated by people's economic actors, aka small-scale. This condition also makes the batik industry has a fairly good ability to absorb labor.

"The handicraft and batik industry is also one of the sectors that opens up employment opportunities because it is dominated by small and medium industries (IKM) which account for around 47 business units in 101 batik centers in Indonesia," he said.

However, the Minister of Industry acknowledged that there are still a number of homework that must be completed so that the batik industry can accelerate and become a field of interest to young people.

"We will try to increase the promotion of Indonesian batik globally. The government, together with the Indonesian Batik Foundation and business actors, will provide incentives, perhaps even massive, to promote batik in big cities in the world, such as New York, London, Tokyo, and others. I am sure that the Ministry of Industry will explore how to help promote batik in world countries," concluded Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang.