What is the Value of Indonesia's Batik Exports?

October 2nd, 2009, became a historic day for the Indonesian people. On that date, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized batik as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Since then, October 2nd is commemorated as National Batik Day. Batik is now not merely a cultural tradition but has transformed into a world-class business. This is reflected in batik exports, in the form of ready-to-wear clothing and other batik products, reaching hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Data from the Ministry of Industry recorded batik exports in 2016 reached US$738.9 million, equivalent to Rp 9.92 trillion at an exchange rate of Rp 13,436 per US dollar. Of that amount, approximately US$413.22 million, or about 50%, was exported to the United States. Unfortunately, national batik exports showed a declining trend up to 2016.

The integrated tourism destination promotion that the government will launch to attract foreign tourists to Indonesia, in an effort to reduce the current account deficit, can be a momentum to further introduce batik to the international community. For information, the government targets 17 million foreign tourist visits this year and 20 million visits in 2019.