Imitations overwhelm Jambi batik makers

[Indonesia promotor]

Jon Afrizal , The Jakarta Post , Jambi | Sat, 10/04/2008 11:35
AM | The Archipelago

Many batik makers in Jambi city feel they have been disadvantaged by
Javanese producers who make imitations of local batik motifs and sell
them for less than the originals. Local batik producer Ida Maryanti
said producers in Java had copied many Jambi batik designs and mass-
produced them. "We don't know what else we can do," Ida said recently.
Ida and a number of other batik makers in Jambi city could not reduce
their sale prices because they had to buy materials (including silk
cloth, wax and dyes) from Java, which increased their production
costs, Ida said. "Batik craftsmen are only skilled at creating batik
but not at marketing," she said. Ida said batik producers in Jambi
city could only afford to buy raw materials in small amounts, which
increased their production costs. Entrepreneurs in batik production
centers in Java, she said, could afford to buy materials in bulk, and
sell at cheaper prices. More information: http://www.itpponline.biz/JKP041008.htm