Indonesia's textile and filament yarn industry is once again facing severe pressure. In a meeting with the Trade Policy Agency of the Ministry of Trade (BK Kemendag), industry players voiced their concerns about the worsening conditions resulting from the rejection of the Anti-Dumping Import Duty (BMAD) policy and the surge in illegal imports, particularly from China.
Farhan Aqil, Secretary General of the Indonesian Fiber and Filament Yarn Producers Association (APSyFI), stated that entrepreneurs are no longer seeking profits, but are instead fighting to keep their factories operating. Many of them even attended the forum not as businesspeople, but as fighters defending the remaining vestiges of the industry.
Factories are reportedly starting to quietly shut down, business contracts are being canceled, and carefully formulated investment plans are failing to materialize. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and industry players feel the government is not sufficiently responsive to the crisis on the ground.
The rejection of the BMAD implementation is said to be a major blow. Investors who had previously expressed interest and even visited factories in person ultimately withdrew, deeming the business climate no longer conducive. The lack of protection against the onslaught of imported goods was seen as undermining the sense of fairness in business.
Data from APSyFI shows that since 2017, filament yarn imports have surged dramatically by 70–300%, depending on the product type. This situation has eroded the competitiveness of the local industry, leaving many production machines idle and businesses trapped in bad debts. Furthermore, the younger generation's confidence in the manufacturing industry has waned.
Farhan emphasized that this situation has the potential to be the beginning of deindustrialization in the textile sector. He urged the government to immediately adopt policies that favor the long-term interests of the domestic industry, taking into account comprehensive studies and not solely satisfying the interests of certain groups.
With the industry in decline and a lack of supportive policy support, the future of the national textile sector hangs in the balance. Without an immediate response, Indonesia risks losing one of its leading manufacturing sectors.