The largest textile wholesale market in Southeast Asia was more crowded on Saturday compared to in recent days, with some visitors finding it difficult to walk down the aisles.
Crowds of shoppers were seen from Saturday morning till afternoon, with customers willing to queue and cram with others to purchase clothes.
Most of the women were looking for thawb, locally known as gamis, made with polo linen fabric, or popular styles such as Lesti Kejora or caftan.
Reski (27), a gamis trader at Tanah Abang Market, said that gamis made of polo linen, both the robe and the veil part, were among his best-selling goods.
"I can sell two to three scores (one score has 20 units). My daily turnover can be up to Rp5 million–6 million, and Rp10 million–13 million on the weekends. Before Ramadan, the (income) was only Rp1 million–2 million per day," he said at his stall, which is located on the Tanah Abang Multipurpose Pedestrian Bridge.
Kita (25), a trader of women's dresses and shirts, said that polo linen veils and clothes were buyers' favorites.
"I can sell 45 pieces a day. If combined with other sold goods, my turnover averages Rp10 million per day. Alhamdulillah (Thank God), on weekends like this, I can get up to Rp12 million–15 million per day," she informed.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had asked governors to encourage public spending to bolster national economic growth.
"We (the government) must encourage the public to spend as much as possible in order to trigger our economic growth," he said at the 2023 National Working Meeting of the Association of Indonesian Provincial Governments (APPSI) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on February 23.
He further said he expected the public consumption rate to rise to 5.4 percent in 2024 from 4.93 percent in 2022.
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Translator: Redemptus S, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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