The Textile Industry Has Earned Foreign Exchange For Indonesia, With A 2018 Export Volume Of US $13 Billion.

In 2018, one of Indonesia's largest sources of foreign exchange income was the textile industry, with exports reaching US $13 billion, an increase of 5% over the same period last year.

Industry minister Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia's textile industry grew by 8.75% last year, making it more competitive in the domestic and international markets. The minister added: "the textile industry is not only one of Indonesia's main economic drivers, but also provides employment opportunities for about 3000000 people and focuses on the export of products".

According to the data provided by Indonesia Statistical Bureau, Indonesia's textile industry is expected to grow by 19% in 2019, and there is no sign of any slowdown in development.

In the first quarter of 2019, the export orders for Indonesian garment production surged by 29%, which promoted the development of Indonesia's entire textile industry and increased the total output of Indonesian textile products by 4.5% in the same period.

Airlangga Hartarto said: "the textile industry has become one of our most reliable industries, contributing greatly to Indonesia's economy. Therefore, we have the responsibility to enhance the competitiveness of the textile industry and promote its sustainable development. "

Muhdori, head of the textile, leather and footwear industry, explained that the rapid growth of the textile industry is also due to massive investment in the silk making industry. Rayon is a cellulose based fabric made from wood pulp. This natural product has the same function of water absorption and air permeability as cotton. For example, APR, a rayon maker, invested 11 trillion rupees (about 777 million US dollars) in the textile industry in late 2018. Its current annual output is 240 thousand tons, of which half of its products are exported to other countries.

Muhdori said, "this is how we improve our textile exports. The supply of upstream industry helps to promote the development of downstream textile industry to benefit the whole industry, mainly because the textile industry has increased by 1% in the first quarter of 2019.

At the same time, the Indonesian government also issued a regulation in 2017 to restrict imports to reduce foreign competition, so Indonesia's imports in the first quarter of this year dropped by 2%.

Sustainable fashion

Ali Charisma, chairman of Indonesia Fashion Association, said that APR has always been a new favorite of Indonesian fashion industry. As a designer, he believes that APR can extend the fashion boundaries through the versatile nature of its materials.

Ali Charisma shows that rayon fibers can be easily blended with other materials. In addition, it is soft, drape and easy to stain, and has excellent properties suitable for high quality and popular fashion products.

With the growing demand for more environmentally friendly materials in the fashion industry, APR is also trying to make sure that all rayon materials are renewable and biodegradable. In this case, "renewable" means that the raw materials used to make APR rayon come from industrial forests. Biodegradability refers to the decomposition of raw materials.

Indonesia is currently one of the largest producers of rayon in the world. APR's domestic production of rayon not only wants to help local fashion industry develop, but also reduces local manufacturers' dependence on imported raw materials.