Indonesian textile industry has good prospects: President

19 Mar '14

2 min read

There are good future prospects for the Indonesian textile industry, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said, while inaugurating the expansion of PT Sari Warna Asli in Randusari village of Boyolali regency in eastern part of Central Java province.

President Yudhoyono said the textile industry in Indonesia has a bright future due to the rising population and purchasing power.

He said he strongly disagrees with the notion that the textile industry in Indonesia is a sunset industry. He added that such a mindset needs to be changed as it can reduce creativity, innovation and confidence in promoting the textile industry.

He said Indonesia currently has a population of more than 240 million, which will continue to increase in the coming years. This growth of population would be accompanied with a rise in the number of middle class population with increasing purchasing power.

Indonesian citizens are the ones who would consume textiles and garments as their purchasing power will continue to increase, Mr. Yudhoyono said.

The improvement in economic conditions as well as work opportunities and other factors would mean that income levels of people will continue to increase, he added.

Mr. Iwan Setiawan Lukminto, director of PT Sritex and PT Sari Warna Asli, said the opportunity is wide open for Indonesia to become a global player in the field of textiles and apparel.

He said Indonesian textiles currently meet about two percent of the global textile and apparel demand. According to him, opportunity also arises as China, which dominates the global textile industry, is vacating the space by entering into manufacturing of other products that have higher value and technological content.

Indonesian textile industry has grown at an average rate of 6.2 percent over the last five years. Last year, the Indonesian textile and clothing industry earned US$ 12.64 billion from exports.

Unlike PT Sritex, which is mainly into manufacturing of military uniforms, PT Sari Warna Asli would produce specialty fashion products.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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