Indonesia’s local yarn manufacturers, who are struggling to compete with cheaper imported yarns due to higher production costs, have appealed to the government to safeguard locally-made goods. Led by the Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Association (ISFA), yarn manufacturers are petitioning their government to impose a temporary safeguard duty on imported yarn products.

As per the association, many foreign yarn producers have been dumping their products into the Indonesian market, selling them at lower prices in to compensate for weak global demand. There has been a rising demand for textile and garment products in recent years as the middle-class population has grown. But most garments use large amounts of imported yarns. ISFA hope that the government helps the yarn producers until there is a stable supply and demand in the global market.

In 2014, Indonesia’s local textile industry exported $12.7 billion worth of products, a slight increase over the previous year’s level of $12.5 billion. Additionally, the industry imported $8.39 billion worth of products. According to the ISFA, Indonesia’s 2014 total consumption of polyester was 620,000 tons, 135,000 of which was imported. Imports have greatly increased over previous years – in 2010 the country only imported 72,000 tons of polyester. The ISFA predicts that in 2015 the local textile industry will consume 650,000 tons of polyester.

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