The textile industry is an important economic sector for Indonesia. According to data from the Ministry of Industry, textiles and textile products generated foreign exchange with an export value of US$13.02 billion and absorbed a workforce of 3.65 million people at the end of 2021. As of July 2022, the industry recorded an export value of $6.08 billion, or 5.51% of the country’s total exports. The ministry expects textile exports to reach $14 billion by the end of this year. These numbers place Indonesia one of the world’s top ten exporters of textile and textile products, alongside countries like China (the world’s top textile producer with around half of the global share of textile output), India, the United States, Brazil, and Thailand. Among Indonesia’s main appeals are the generally cost-effective labor that the country provides, as well as its large domestic market. However, Indonesia’s textile industry is also known to be lacking in terms of machinery. Around 70% of machines used in the industry are old and have a 50% less productivity rate, as stated by the Indonesian Textile Association (API) in 2019. Which is why the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is so important for the textile industry. Formalized just last month by the Indonesian Parliament, the trade pact would allow Indonesia to increase its exports to the 15 member nations of the deal, which include the 10-nation members of ASEAN, as well as to some of the world’s major economies such as Japan and South Korea. More importantly, the trade pact is a significant opportunity for Indonesia to improve its domestic textile industry by way of generating more trade and investment with non-members of the RCEP. According to Sheng Lu, Associate Professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, RCEP members together exported $374 billion worth of textiles and apparels in 2019 (50% of the world’s share) and imported $139 billion (20% of the world’s share). In terms of export destinations, the US imports nearly 60% of its apparel from RCEP members, while EU nations import 32% in that same year, or up 28.1% from 2005. In acknowledging the challenges and opportunities, the Indonesian government has taken efforts to ensure the competitiveness of its domestic textile players. For example, in September 2021, the Ministry of Industry allocated a total of Rp 3 billion for the revitalization of the fabric refinement and printing industry. Most recently, the government prepared another Rp 8.5 billion in financial assistance, out of which around 250 companies participated in the socialization of the assistance. The current landscape of the Indonesian textile industry could be highly lucrative for foreign investors, particularly among suppliers of sophisticated machinery and production equipment, as well as capacity builders. Other positive trends for investors are the country’s improving business climate following the issuance of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation, which introduces some significant reforms on investments and labor laws, as well as the rising purchasing power of the population and the proliferation of e-commerce platforms. To further discuss the matter, EKONID will host a German textile machinery manufacturers Symposium and Business Matchmaking event. To be held from October 10 to 14 October 2022 in Bandung and Solo, Indonesia, the German textile machinery Symposium and Business Matchmaking features a wide variety of textile machinery products, from spinning, knitting, weaving, dye-ing, finishing, and braiding. The leading German players in the textile machinery industry will be presenting their products and technologies in Indonesia. EKONID will also facilitate one-on-one B2B matchmaking and opportunities for networking. This event will provide Indonesian textile companies with the opportunity to source the latest innovative products from Germany.
At the Indonesia 4.0 Conference & Expo 2022 held at Hotel Bidakara on August 24 - 25, 2022, Siemens presented the advanced planning and scheduling that enables manufacturing industries to efficiently do management of orders and sequencing with product lines, formulas, and production asset. Aerospace & Automotive, Semi-Conductors & Electronics, Food & Beverage, and Consumer Goods are the mature industries in Indonesia that are ready to embrace the advanced planning and scheduling concepts. It uses advanced math to analyze and calculate achievable production schedules, considering a range of constraints and business rules allowing the planner to generate and evaluate multiple possible scenarios. "Manufacturers traditionally cannot react quickly and intelligently to changes without planning & scheduling tools. The time it takes to generate a schedule using spreadsheets can take hours or even days and it can be difficult to maintain. But there is a new trend toward predictive action using advanced planning & scheduling to synchronizes thousands of resources to create accurate production schedules," said I Putu Agus Sugita, Account Manager of Food & Beverage Industry, Digital Industries of PT Siemens Indonesia. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Indonesia showed a growth of 3.67% in the non-oil and gas processing industry throughout 2021. In addition, the chemical, pharmaceutical, and traditional medicine industries continued their positive trend by growing 9.61%. Siemens believes the advanced planning and scheduling concepts can help manufacturing industries to produce components more efficiently and at the same time increase production quality as well as quantity. Thus, the advanced planning and scheduling concept can become the enabler for Indonesian industry to regain its status as the main driver of economy. Siemens also made a positive contribution to the acceleration of the implementation Making Indonesia 4.0 program in Indonesia. Together with Directorate General of Agro Industry, Ministry of Industry, we provide our expertise on the implementation of Industry 4.0 to support Food and Beverage industry. We are harnessing our capabilities, expertise, and global network of partners to supply Indonesia’s food and beverage sector with knowledge and technologies that can be fully applied in their product design, production line, operation, and maintenance to create the future manufacture that able to bring the real and virtual world together. This press release and a press picture is available at www.siemens.co.id/press
On August 18, 2022, The German Embassy in Indonesia announced that, effective immediately, Indonesian passports without a standardized signature column can be validated with an officially certified signature by an Indonesian passport authority and be further processed for visa applications. As per the announcement, Indonesian passport holders who are applying for a visa are requested to have their signature on page 4 (or 5) of the passport officially notarized (also known as an endorsement) by an Indonesian passport authority for the visa procedure. The announcement further stated that the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community has informed the Federal police, which is responsible for border control, that Indonesian nationals with passports without an endorsement field and a visa already included in them may travel to Germany for a transitional period (Until August 31, 2022). However, passport holders without an endorsement field and a visa included are strongly urged to obtain an official signature certification from an Indonesian passport authority (at the nearest Immigrations office in Indonesia or at Indonesian missions abroad if overseas) as soon as possible. Lastly, the German Embassy in Indonesia stated that the embassy, as well as the external visa provider VFS Global, would immediately inform Indonesian visa applicants with the relevant steps for further visa procedures. For the official information, check here (https://jakarta.diplo.de/id-id).