Ernovian G Ismy, the Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Textile Association (API), expressed his worry over the smuggling of garments from many Asian countries like China, Singapore, South Korea and India into Indonesia.
He blamed the relaxed laws for the mess and said that the Government was taking only half hearted measures to curb the menace.
He informed that in 2003, the illegal smuggling reached 29 percent and in 2004, 22 percent while it shot up to 59 percent in 2005. The figures were based on the calculation of the difference between consumption, production and imports.
Ismy suggested that the menace could be curbed by strictly checking the imported garments and by imposing harsh sentences on smugglers. He said that huge smuggling had destroyed local small and medium size industries.
API figures reveal that the number of small and medium units was 5,569 in Bandung in 2004 which dropped to 4,700 and number of people deployed dropped to 30,000 from 668,000.
Companies mainly targeting local markets have been severely affected and Ismy urged the Government to enforce the law strictly and devise consistent policies.
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