APSYFI Recommends Three Policies To Protect Textile Industry

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Filament Filament Fiber and Benang Producers Association (APSyFI) recommends three policies that the government can implement to protect the textile and textile product (TPT) industry.

"There are three main policy directions, namely strengthening trade regulations, increasing industrial competitiveness, and medium-term policies for the independence of raw materials," said APSYFI Secretary General Farhan Aqil Syauqi, in a written statement in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Thursday, October 9.

Regarding the strengthening of trade regulations, APSYFI requested that all TPT (HS 50-63) products be required to have an import permit (PI) from the Ministry of Trade based on technical considerations (pertek) from the Ministry of Industry.

However, APSYFI emphasized that the provision of import quotas to pertek needs to be thoroughly evaluated in order to avoid playing games with importers, with its implementation being carried out transparently.

In addition, supervision of SNI, K3L, and Indonesian labeling needs to be returned to the border to strengthen control.

APSYFI also asked the government to enforce anti- dumping, anti-subsidized, and safeguard rules and eradicate illegal imports and refuse to relax imports.

Untuk peningkatan daya saing dan integrasi industri, APSYFI mengusulkan harga gas industri maksimal 6 dolar AS per MMBTU agar setara dengan kompetitor seperti India.

Then, APSYFI encourages final tax incentives for finished clothing products as well as green and cheap financing for industries that use local or recycled raw materials.

"This step is expected to strengthen the supply chain from upstream to downstream," said Farhan.

Meanwhile, regarding medium-term policies, APSYFI emphasized the importance of domestic component level obligations (TKDN) and the implementation of SNI in the domestic market.

In addition, the strengthening of local brands and national e-commerce platforms for IKM and the acceleration of green and digital transformation (industrial 4.0).

"This effort must be accompanied by national logistics efficiency, especially in rail and port transportation, as well as the development of the domestic petrochemical industry to ensure the supply of strategic raw materials," added Farhan.

With this comprehensive strategy, APSYFI hopes that the government can take concrete steps to reorganize import policies, strengthen industries from upstream to downstream, and create a conducive business climate.

He is also optimistic that 85 percent of the domestic market will be controlled by local products, with contributions to gross domestic product (GDP) increasing from 1.1 percent to 2.6 percent, and employment increased to 5.5 percent per year.

"We are targeting the growth of the TPT industry by 16.5 percent per year by 2035, with exports increasing by 9.7 percent per year and imports suppressed by 26 percent in a decade," he said.