Garment producers admitted one of the ways to wall
out flooding import was to increase added value on the products. The reason was
that in the future import of garments would increase so it had the potential to
injure to domestic garment industry. The garment industry was also asked
produce fashion products to shield of invasion of foreign products. In the
future big scale and small scale garment industry might be expected to
synergize.
Big scale garment industry might make purchase order
from small scale garment producers. Insertion of accessories in garment
products in the big industry sector might be delegated to small industry. “This
is one way to promote potentials of small garment industry whereby to survive
amidst flanking imported products” Redma Gita Wirawasta. Secretary General of
The Association of Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Producers (Apsyfi) was quoted as
saying in Jakarta on Friday (23/11/2012).
Redma saw that garment producers
still found it hard to sell their products to the international market. However
they needed not to wory because the domestic market was still vast enough to be
tapped. He saw that the domestic garment
market was not fully explored. Besides people’s interest in garment products was still great. Redma
mentioned that some garment producers had managed to market their products to modern retail market.
Recline estimated that based on the assumption that
Indonesia’s population was 240 people, national garment consumption might come
to 1.52 million tons. Based on the assumed price of USD 7.5 kg per kg, the
figure was equal to USD 11.52 billion. Meanwhile he added on, until Semester I
2012 to total surplus of national trading of textile and textile (TPI) products
went down from USD 5 billion - USD 6 billion to become USD 2 billion. The
reason he said was because Indonesia still imported vast amount of textiles.
He saw that there was the bright side and darker
side in Free Trading. The positive side that access the Chine’s market was
widely open end in reverse China’s investors could corns to Indonesia, which
would have its positive impact on employment. The negative side of it was,
according to Redma, uncertainty for businesspeople because inefficiency might
result in their losing competition in the market so the local market share
would be possessed by China’s products; and under such circumstances local
producers might go out of business and change profession as traders. Redma
warned that such was the negative side of free trade. He illustrated that even
now there were already some textile industry in West Java who were planning to
dismiss their workers. “We cannot sit on our laurels and let it happen. Only by
stepping up our product’s plus point we can compete” Redma remarked.
The Apsyfi Association also urged that import tax
for garment be increased to 35% against the present 15%. Redma stated that
protection for the downstream sector could be done by increasing income tax for
ready garments or application of safeguard. He also remarked that strengthening
of the domestic market was most important. However this commitment must be done
by sound policy not just pleading or discourse. The recommendation was
forwarded to the Government starting from the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of
Finance, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Trade in the hope it could be
executed soon.
Redma explained that today percentage for MFN (Most
Favored Nation) was 15% so Indonesia could increase up to 35% according to
binding tariff permitted by WTO. For safeguard, political will from the
Government was necessary because Indonesia only had data of import up jump only
while data of injury were hardly available considering producers of ready
garments were domestic-market oriented were mostly small and micro business
most of which were not even formal companies.
Business News - November 28, 2012
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