Investment and Trade

Exports to US Drop

Indonesian non-oil exports to USA during November 2001 severely decreased by 45.85% compared to October to stay at US$395.2 million, as exports of the same item to Japan also shrank 30.48%, according to data from the Central Statistics Institute. The November slump even haunted almost all non-oil export destination countries, excluding South Korea , which saw 8.37% rise to US$131.4 million compared to October. Despite the slow down, both Japan and United States retain their positions as the biggest destination countries during November, followed by Singapore , Soedarti Subakti, head of BPS, said yesterday.  "Exports decreased not only because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, but also because long before the attacks the U.S. and Japan had been experiencing an economic slowdown," the country's Central Bureau of Statistics said. (Bisnis Indonesia)  

Indonesian Textile Association

   API chairman Benny Soetrisno said that three textile companies operating in   Semarang , Central Java , had recently laid off about 12,000 workers, while  some 800 workers were laid off in Bandung , West Java .   "From my point of view, we will face difficult times and gloomy prospects  next year," Indra Ibrahim, API executive director, told The Jakarta Post on  Wednesday.  

   The economic slowdown worldwide, signaled by the shaky performance of the  world's major economies including Japan and the U.S. , was mostly to blame for  the disruption in market sentiment for exports.  The Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the U.S. , Indonesia 's main export  destination, have only made it worse. The U.S. market absorbs some 26.5  percent of the country's textile products valued at $2.1 billion per year.  With other major markets such as Japan and Europe also facing domestic  problems of their own, Indonesia is running out of alternate markets to shift  its export destination.

Indonesia Curbs Cotton Imports 

Indonesia , the world's biggest cotton importer, may buy 3.5 per cent less of  the fibre in the current marketing year as slower economic growth saps demand  for textiles, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The USDA said in a report that Indonesia was likely to import 2.53 million bales of cotton in the 12 months to July, down from 2.62 million bales a year earlier. Australia supplies about half Indonesia 's cotton imports, shipping 220,300 tons of the fiber in 2001, or one-quarter of its total exports. Bloomberg News