VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo inaugurated an Asia-Pacific Rayon textile factory (APR) in Pelalawan Regency, Riau, Friday (21/2). In his speech, President Joko Widodo said that he was surprised to find out that the Asia Pacific Rayon textile factory has sophisticated technology to produce 200 million industrial plant seeds in the form of acacia and eucalyptus. He also admired the APR technology which converts wood fiber into rayon type textile. The President said that the Government of Indonesia is committed to supporting the investment climate because many people do not realize that the business community is very large in favor of the circulation of money and also the wheels of the economy. Therefore, he asked Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita to support the development of the Indonesian garment industry to go more globally. On this occasion, President Joko Widodo also sent off containers containing over 10,000 tons rayon fiber for export to Turkey and 12,000 tons for shipping to Central Java. He appreciated the Asia Pacific Rayon investment which supports the development of the national textile industry. In addition, the presence of the Asia Pacific Rayon is also expected to be an alternative to reduce dependence on imports of textile raw materials, especially cotton. On that occasion, Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that optimizing the use of textile raw materials originating from within the country is very important in improving the performance of the textile industry and Indonesian textile products. According to Minister Agus Gumiwang, his side is currently carrying out several steps to continue to improve the performance of the labor-intensive industry. To improve the competitiveness of the textile industry and textile products, he has endorsed many aspects. One of them is to facilitate the availability of domestic raw materials. Meanwhile, Director of Asia Pacific Rayon, Basrie Kamba said that the presence of Asia Pacific Rayon could have a positive impact on employment and business opportunities for small and medium enterprises in the upstream-downstream textile and textile products (TPT) industries. Besides Turkey, he said that Asia Pacific Rayon products were also exported to 14 other countries, including the world textile markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Brazil, and a number of countries in Europe. In addition to exports, Asia Pacific Rayon production is also intended to meet the needs of domestic textile raw materials.