The Indonesia Textile Association has urged the government to take measures to protect the textile industry.

Beni Sudisno, chairman of the association, suggested that the government should formulate relevant policies to stipulate that foreign textiles can only be imported through the two largest Indonesian ports in Jakarta and Surabaya, so as to reduce smuggling's impact on domestic textile industry.

According to reports, the textile products illegally imported into Indonesia in 2007 amounted to more than 86 tons, which seriously affected the survival of small and medium-sized textile enterprises in Indonesia.

The textile industry association also asked the government to increase the import tax on cloth and clothing products from 15% to 25%, while taking measures to prevent textile exports from being accusations of foreign anti-dumping.

In view of rising energy prices, frequent power outages and high 11-12% interest rates per year, the Textile Association asked the government to take measures to alleviate the plight of the textile industry.