JAKARTA - The batik industry is one of the sectors that has so far made a significant contribution to the national economy, including one that has created many job opportunities. This is because the sector which is dominated by small and medium-sized industries (IKM) has absorbed 200 thousand workers from 47 thousand business units spread across 101 regional centers of Indonesia.
"The batik industry, which is part of the textile industry, is also one of the mainstay sectors in the implementation of the Making Indonesia 4.0 integrated roadmap," said Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita at the 2021 National Batik Day Commemoration Peak event in Yogyakarta, Wednesday (6/10).
The Ministry of Industry noted that the achievement of batik exports in 2020 reached USD 532.7 million, and during the first quarter of 2021 it was able to penetrate USD 157.8 million.
The Minister of Industry added that batik is an identity for the Indonesian people. This is reinforced by UNESCO's acknowledgment that Indonesian batik is one of the world's intangible cultural heritages in the field of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (LM)