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Government to streamline raw material imports for textile industry
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Learning by doing: Recipients of an Industry Ministry-sponsored scholarship program train at a yarn spinning plant in Surakarta, Central Java. Indonesia plans to streamline the import process of raw materials for textile and textile products (TPT) in an effort to rejuvenate the labor-intensive industry, which has been struggling amid fierce global competition. (ANTARA FOTO/Maulana Surya)
T
he government plans to streamline the process of importing raw materials for textile and textile products (TPT) in an effort to rejuvenate the labor-intensive industry, which has been struggling with fierce global competition.
Speaking at a limited Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed the relevant ministries to ease import procedures to improve the competitiveness of local businesses with regional competitors like Vietnam, which has no import tariff, as opposed to Indonesia’s fees of 5-20 percent.
“[We must] simplify the import procedures for TPT raw materials to lift the burden off businesses,” he said.
Data from the Geneva-based International Trade Center show that the value of Indonesia’s apparel and clothing accessories exports declined by almost 4 percent to US$3.3 billion last year from 3.42 billion in 2014.
Jokowi said the TPT industry was in need of immediate revitalization to push further industrialization.
“Many industrialized countries in Asia, like Japan, China and South Korea, started their industrialization [efforts] by developing the TPT manufacturing [industry],” he said. (hwa)
