Regulatory barriers hamper investment in Indonesia's textile industry

A number of investments in this sector are still stalled, including investment plans from the Tongkun Group, a polyester producer from China, the association said on its website.

"We have heard for a long time that Tongkun will invest in polyester raw materials, but until now it has not been realised," said APSyFI general chair Redma G. Wirawasta.

Redma feels investors need long-term regulatory certainty to ensure the sustainability of their businesses.

The country’s minister of industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has said the domestic fashion industry is projected to grow at an average of 4.26 per cent per year until 2029, with a market value reaching $9.6 billion. The sector has a workforce of more than 1.6 million people.

Creative industry players in Indonesia should be able to take advantage of this opportunity to become hosts in their own country and win the domestic market amidst competition from imported products, the association noted.

Kartasasmita said the perception of the domestic textile industry being a sunset industry must be broken.

In the first quarter this year, the export value of the domestic textile industry increased by 0.19 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)