Batik industry absorbs 200,000 workers as of Aug: govt

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The batik industry has absorbed 200 thousand workers as of August 2024, according to data from the Industry Ministry.

The workers are spread across 201 industrial centers and 5,946 small and medium industries in 11 Indonesian provinces, the data shows.

"What we should underline here is that a very large workforce—almost 200 thousand workers—(is involved in the batik industry)," the ministry's director general of small, medium, and miscellaneous industries, Reni Yanita, said during the 2024 National Batik Day press conference here on Thursday.

The workers engaged in the batik craft industry sector also made a large contribution to Indonesia's export balance, amounting to US$9.45 million, in the January–July period (first half) 2024, she informed.

To highlight the importance of advancing the domestic batik industry, the Industry Ministry and the Indonesian Batik Foundation (YBI) will host the 2024 National Batik Day (HBN) event in Jakarta from October 2 to 6, 2024.

During the event, the government will promote batik through focus group discussions (FGD) that will seek to promote the preservation of batik by the younger generation, the geographical indexing of Gedhog Tuban woven batik, technical assistance for natural dye production, as well as provision of machines/equipment for batik SME (small and medium enterprise) centers.

The event will also include technical assistance for batik production in prisons, a Batikmark business matching, and a workshop on the production process of batik uniforms for Hajj pilgrims.

At the event, 24 batik SMEs and two new SMEs fostered by prisons with assistance from 10 provinces will showcase their products.

According to the Industry Ministry, the strategy for developing domestic batik SMEs also involves the implementation of Industry 4.0 principles, development and revitalization of SME centers, promotions and exhibitions, human resource development, as well as machine restructuring programs.