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To improve the country's competitiveness in the global
garment industry, a panel of experts has called for Indonesian
producers to improve their understanding of the market's needs.
The experts were speaking Friday during the launch of the Indonesian
Apparel Industry Networking Event, which is part of the 2007 Indonesian
Textile and Apparel Fair here.
The one-day event, sponsored by the USAID-funded Indonesian
competitiveness initiative (SENADA), together with the Indonesian
Textile Association (API) and the International Garment Training Center
(IGTC), is an effort to improve ties between producers and buyers.
Zulian Siregar, SENADA senior industry adviser, said the networking
event, with the theme "Link and Match", allow SENADA to link interested
buyers with suitable producers.
"It serves as a meeting point for buyers and producers, which we
personally and individually arrange down to the venue and timing of
meeting," he said.
"Hopefully this will facilitate interaction between the two parties,
especially since the producers will be able to hear first-hand about
what buyers expect from them."
Indonesia's garment exports last year stood at US$4.5 billion, making
it one of the country's top non-oil and gas foreign exchange earners.
But with increasing competition from new market players, especially
China and Vietnam, Indonesia is in danger of losing its status as one
of the world's major garment exporters.
The founder of IGTC, Till Freyer, said garment producers here need to
understand their markets and have direct access to buyers.
"This industry is a buyer-driven one. Thus, producers who offer
exceptional services and meet buyer-vendor compliance standards will
definitely have strong competitive power."
Earlier this year, the government allocated Rp 255 billion ($246
million) in subsidies and low-interest loans to help textile producers
purchase new machinery, to make them more efficient and allow the
producers to diversify their products.
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