The textile and textile products industry (which includes garments or clothes) is a very important one for the Indonesian economy because this industry ranks among the country’s biggest foreign exchange earners (thanks to strong exports), while also providing jobs to more than 3.7 million Indonesians, and contributing nearly seven percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) – provided we only take non-oil and gas manufacturing into account – or around 1.25 percent of total GDP.

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Indonesian exports of textile and textile products could soar threefold if the government of Indonesia finally manages to sign a free trade deal with the European Union (EU). Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, Director General for Chemicals, Textiles and Miscellaneous industry at the Industry Ministry, said a major obstacle for Indonesian textile exports at the moment is the weak competitiveness of Indonesian textile companies as compared to their Vietnamese counterparts.

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The upstream textile industry of Indonesia urges the Fiscal Policy Office (in Indonesian: Badan Kebijakan Fiskal, or BKF) to exempt local raw materials - supplied by local manufacturers - from VAT. Redma Gita Wirawasta, Secretary General of the Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Producers Association (APSyFI), said he has discussed this proposal during several recent meetings with the BKF.

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A small 0.62 percent year-on-year (y/y) growth was detected in Indonesia's textile exports in the first half of 2017. This modest growth was supported by a 20.4 percent (y/y) rise in knitwear exports. Ade Sudrajat, Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API), said Indonesia's downstream textile manufacturers were actually pleased with this result as it exceeds expectations amid bleak textile demand from various countries.

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Textile companies urge the government to provide more legal certainty in relation to the continuously rising flow of imported textile products. The rising flow is the result of the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the start of 2016. The AEC has created a single market and production base within ASEAN member countries, implying that goods - including textiles and textile products - can flow freely within the region. However, Indonesian textile players say that many textiles that are imported from other ASEAN countries (and thus are free from import tax) actually originate from non-ASEAN countries.

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Indonesia wants to enter the top five ranking of the world's largest textile (and textile products) exporters in the next couple of years. Currently, Indonesia is ranked tenth (controlling a global market share of 1.8 percent) far behind China that remains the clear world leader in terms of textile and garment production as well as export. Indonesia's Industry Ministry is in the middle of preparing several incentives that should bring Indonesia in the top five, including tax incentives and lower gas prices for export-oriented textile companies.

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Indonesia's textile and textile products industry remains under pressure this year. Exports of Indonesian textile and textile products are only expected to grow 1 percent to USD $12.3 billion in full-year 2016, below the 3 percent target that was set by the Indonesian Textile Association (API). API Chairman Ade Sudrajat said exports in the first quarter only reached USD $2.6 billion. Moreover, even on the domestic market Indonesia has trouble to compete with imports of cheap textile and textile products from Vietnam and China.

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Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex), one of Indonesia's leading textile and garment manufacturers, plans to acquire a German military uniform manufacturer. Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto, Vice President Director of Sritex, said the acquisition of the German company should be completed in 2017. The aim of this acquisition is to enhance Sritex' business in the European Union. The German uniform manufacturer will be the "extended arm" of Sritex in Europe according to Lukminto's words. Currently, about 15 percent of Sritex' total export revenue is generated from shipments to Europe.

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The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), the investment service agency of the Indonesian government, claims it has prevented about 24,500 of layoffs through its special desk for footwear and textile industries. This special desk is an agency set up by the BKPM in early October 2015 to support local companies in the footwear and textile industries as these industries are considered most affected by the country's economic slowdown. BKPM Chairman Franky Sibarani said a total of 48 companies have requested support through this special desk.

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Andi Gani Nenawea, Chairman of the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers' Union (KSPSI), said that layoffs in Indonesia could reach up to 100,000 in 2015 as various companies are cutting on operational costs amid the nation’s slowing economic growth. The most severely affected industries are the textile industry and commodities (such as the coal and oil & gas sectors).

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