Ministry Of Industry Urges Textile Industry To Be More Transparent And Orderly On Administration

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry Febri Hendri Antoni Arif. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenperin)

JAKARTA - In order to maintain the competitiveness of Indonesian textile products, the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) emphasized the importance of transparency, administrative compliance, and strategy consistency. The appeal was specifically addressed to the upstream sector under the auspices of the Association of Indonesian Filament and Filament Producers (APSyFI).

Based on data from the National Industrial Information System (SIINAs), compliance with APSYFI member industry reporting is still low. Of the 20 member companies, only 15 reported their industrial activities, while the other five companies were absent or negligent.

"There are still large APSYFI member companies that do not report their performance at all. In fact, this reporting obligation is a form of industrial accountability to the state. At least administrative commitments actually weaken the position of associations claiming to be the vanguard of national textiles," said Ministry of Industry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif in his statement quoted from ANTARA, August 24.

Febri explained that in the Ministry of Industry's data, there was an anomaly in the performance of the APSYFI member industry.

In the midst of the association's request for the government to tighten imports, there has actually been a significant increase in imports by its own members.

Data shows the import volume of yarn and fabrics by APSYFI member companies increased by more than 239 percent in one year, from 14.07 million kilograms (2024) to 47.88 million kilograms (2025).

"There are APSYFI members who take advantage of the facilities for bounded areas and general APIs, so they are free to carry out massive imports. On the one hand, they demand protection, but on the other hand they are active as importers. This is clearly contradictory to the spirit of industrial independence," he said.

So far, the government has provided various forms of protection and fiscal instruments for the upstream textile industry, including import duties for antidumping (BMAD) polyester staple fiber (PSF) which has been running since 2010 and is valid until 2027.

In addition, BMAD spin drawn yarn (SDY) which is valid until 2025, duties for entering security measures (BMTP) are threaded from synthetic fibers that are valid until 2026, and there are still BMTP fabrics valid until 2027.

"This means that the APSYFI member industry has been enjoying double profits, namely tariff protection as well as import facilities. Unfortunately, it is not balanced with new investment or modernization of technology," said Febri.

The Ministry of Industry emphasizes that import recommendation policies and industry protection are always based on the principles of justice and balance between upstream, intermediate, and downstream.

Export-oriented downstream industries provide convenience to be competitive in the global market, while domestic markets are directed to import substitution according to the verification of national industrial capabilities.

Febri added that if the BMAD proposal with a rate of 45 percent is applied according to the KADI calculation, the risk is layoffs of up to 40,000 workers in the downstream industry.

"This will be a national tragedy. Meanwhile, the potential for layoffs in the upstream sector, which is much smaller, can still be mitigated through optimizing local absorption," he said.

The textile sector in the first and second quarters of 2025 still grew above 4 percent.

This is a positive achievement that must be maintained.

"The Ministry of Industry hopes that industry associations can see government policies objectively. Precisely in the midst of this growth, what is needed is collaboration and compliance, not narratives that mislead the public," said Febri.