Jambi needs investment for textile industry

Jambi (ANTARA News) - Jambi province badly needs investors to construct its textile industry as partners for batik and songket (embroidered with bits of gold or silver thread) producers, an official said.

"The batik and songket makers have had difficulties in obtaining the materials like cloth, thread and dye which should be bought from other regions at a high cost," Mrs Hj. Azizah Daryati Uteng of the regional legislative assembly said here on Wednesday (May 23).

In addition, the majority of Jambi`s batik producers have difficulties in developing and marketing their products, she said, adding that batik and songket products from this province would develop if there is a textile or garment industry in the region.

Citing as an example, Azizah said that the batiks produced in Pekalongan and Yogyakarta as well as in West Java developped rapidly because of the availability of the raw materials in those regions.

According to her, the Jambi provincial administration would provide facilities for investors such as plots of land if they wish to make an investment in the province.