CBI is the Dutch agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy supporting the development of small and medium entreprises from developing countries in their efforts to export to Europe. Following are large extracts (slightly modified for the understanding of the outside reader) of the Motivation paper for the sector selection within Indonesia Home Decoration and Home Textiles (HDHT), published with the authorization of the agency. This papers was issued after the publication of the HDHT Value Chain Analysis, conducted by Pierre Johnson in 2018.
In the first phase of the CBI process, two value chains, Home decoration and Home textiles, were identified with export potential from Indonesia to the EU market.
During the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) phase, desk research, field research, company assessments, a local HT stakeholder meeting and a EU expert meeting were executed. The VCA phase concluded that the two VCs have different history, dynamics and current needs.
Traditional hand-woven textiles from Nusa Tenggara Timor NTT are characterized by rich patterns, sophisticated techniques, and an increasing use of natural dyes and locally grown and hand spun cotton. The patterns are diversified and characteristic of the diverse communities of Timor, Sumba, Flores, Alor and other islands of the NTT province.
For a full century, those textiles have been appreciated by amateurs and collectors, and purchased at a high price. The textile industry in Indonesia is focused on fashion, mainly for ceremonial use. The home textiles market is only since 2016 slowly being explored. Until recently adaptation to the more mainstream international (home) textile market has been limited and cautious. Hand-woven textiles sizes are limited by the size of looms, production is limited by the time necessary for weaving and by gathering, preparing and applying natural dyes. In addition, sewing know-how is missing in the NTT to elaborate final contemporary HT products.
The value of hand-weaving and meaningful patterns pinpoints the fact that HT should be viewed as high-end or luxury products sector. The European home textiles market, however, is completely new for Indonesia (no export history). The assessment of their product offer shows limited market potential and was described by European market experts as niche-in-a-niche market. But even more challenging is the fact that there are very few companies in Indonesia that have the capacity to develop exports markets. The complete value chain needs to be restructured to make it export ready.
Based on the findings of the VCA phase CBI concluded that re-organizing a complete HT value chain from scratch is not feasible within a time frame of 4-5 years or CBI’s competency. Therefore CBI will invest its resources in increasing the international competitiveness of the home decoration sector, specifically support Indonesia to develop the capacity to strengthen its position in the mid-high European market segment.
