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A screenshot of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno during the webinar "Improving the Quality of Batik Wealth of the Archipelago" which was monitored online in Yogyakarta, Saturday (Oct 2, 2021). (ANTARA/Luqman Hakim/ak) - 

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said that Indonesia's batik industry has driven the community's economy by absorbing more than 200 thousand workers.

"Batik industry can absorb more than 200 thousand workers in more than 47 thousand business units spread across 101 batik industry centers," Uno said in the webinar on improving the quality of batik to commemorate the National Batik Day, monitored online in Yogyakarta, Saturday.

The minister said that batik has been developed from a traditional art to become a modern art.

There are more than 5,849 Indonesian batik motifs from Aceh to Papua. Batik is also rich in a variety of colors, designs, and ways to draw the cloth with spouted canting.

As it is increasingly worn in everyday life, according to him, batik is one of the sources of people's income that drives the community's economy.

Head of The National Standardization Agency (BSN) Kukuh S. Achmad said that as a creative industry with promising market potential, a strategy is needed to face the challenges of this era of the creative economy industry so that Indonesian batik products can compete in the global market.

With the increasing public awareness of the quality of batik, according to Kukuh, the role of the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) is becoming increasingly important.

"The government has an obligation to encourage batik producers to improve the quality of batik, through the application of SNI," he said.

Kukuh explained that the BSN is obliged to provide SNI and a scheme for the implementation, development, and facilitation of certification.

"In addition to playing a role in providing protection to the community, SNI also becomes a guide to increase the competitiveness of Indonesian products," Kukuh stated.

The BSN has set 32 standard of quality for batik and batik products in order to preserve the traditional fabric.

"With SNI, it means that the batik has met the standards of quality, which are recognized nationally and internationally," he said//ANT