Indonesia’s exports of textile products from January to May 2018 rose 6.16 per cent while imports jumped 28.02 per cent. In the first quarter of 2018, exports of manufactured products grew only 3.2 per cent while imports jumped 23.5 per cent.

Textile and textile exports in the first quarter of 2010 rose 7.9 per cent while imports jumped 19.5 per cent. Imports of electronics, steel, pulp/paper, rubber products, footwear and furniture grew by 29.9 per cent, 33.9 per cent, 32.5 per cent, 82.1 per cent, 30 per cent and 46 per cent and other sectors experienced an average surge above 20 per cent.

The domestic market is flooded with imported products. The surge in imports is increasingly troubling producers, including textile producers. The trade deficit continues to affect the exchange rate. Sales in the upstream sector in May-June 2018 fell by 15 per cent. The utilization of fabrics by manufacturers is currently below 50 per cent so that all raw materials can be supplied by local producers.

In 2016, apparel exports from the Southeast Asian nation decreased 3.2 per cent due to several challenges including high logistics costs and gas and power tariffs being higher than other competitor countries’.