Bali's Textile Exports Down 15 Pct

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Bali province's textile exports, during the first two months of 2012, fell 15 percent to US$19.88 million, from US$22.88 million in the same period last year. 

The head of the export section at the Bali provincial industry and trade office, Putu Bagiada, said Saturday that a lack of product promotions was among the reasons to blame for the drop in textile exports.



Earlier, the chief of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Textile Producers Association (API), AA Ngurah Mahendra, said the shortfall was not a new problem, citing increasingly tighter competition among textile producers. 

Also, adding to the problem were increasing prices of raw materials, he said.



"Besides tight competition, our foreign rivals have many ways to attract buyers by, among others, extending the period of time to settle debts. We don't have the courage to do that, so we lost out to our foreign rivals," he said.

Noting the role textiles played in adding to the province's foreign exchange earnings, he asked the local government to be more attentive about the decline in textile exports. 

"Unless the government pays attention to the textile industry we will collapse. Therefore, the government's attention is badly needed to increase exports," he said.(IGT/M038)