VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Industry Ministry facilitated some national small and medium batik industry players in joining international exhibition entitled, “Indonesia Batik for the World” at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. One of the participants was Batik Azmiah, a premium-class batik small-medium industry from Jambi province which had penetrated European market. The exhibition held on June 6-12 was to commemorate the 9-year Indonesian Batik being listed as the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since October 2 2009. That was said by Indonesian Industry Ministry’s Small-Medium Industry Director General, Gati Wibawaningsih in Jakarta last Monday (18/6). She said that the aim of holding the Indonesia Batik for the World was to show the wealth of Indonesian batik culture, craftsmen’s competence, and continuity of batik industry to the world. According to Gati, Indonesian batik keeps showing its identity in various international exhibitions. Gati also explained that this year’s exhibition, there are 100 premium batik cloths exhibited by batik craftsmen from many regions of Indonesia. In 2015, Industry Ministry awarded Three-Star One Village One Product (OVOP) for Batik Category to Batik Azmiah. According to Gati, Rumah Batik Azmiah is a batik small-medium industry, famous for its classic colors and unique patterns. Some of the produced patterns are kapal sanggat, tampuk manggis, bungo keladi, and merak ngeram. Something special about Azmiah batik is its batik-making process which is through six-time coloring until pretty colors appear. Gati further said that the batik industry plays an important role for the national economy. As market leader, Indonesia had conquered global batik market as well as moved both regional and national economy through it. In addition, the batik industry has provided thousands of job opportunities and contributed to national foreign exchange. The Industry Ministry recorded the value of batik export and product in 2017 had reached $58 million dollars. The main markets are Japan, the United States of America, and some European countries. According to Gati, this indicates that the national batik industry has comparative competitiveness in the global market. She also said, currently the batik industry is being dominated by small-medium industry players spread across 101 centers in Indonesia. The number of absorbed workers in the batik small-medium industry centers reaches 15 thousand people. Gati Wibawaningsih reaffirmed, the Industry Ministry keeps trying to increase the competitiveness and productivity of national batik industry. The strategic moves that have been implemented are manpower competence increase, product quality development, standardization, machinery and equipment facility, as well as promotion and exhibition.