YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Putting the label "Made in Indonesia" on Indonesian export products hasn't been done by Indonesian business people. Products from this country has flooded the international market, but many are sold without identity. Furthermore, some bear the label of other countries.

At some shopping centers in Singapore for instance, some merchants sell Indonesian handcraft products. They admit that such merchandises, such as batik cloth, are imported from Yogyakarta, Solo, and Pekalongan (Central Java). However they are reluctant to label those products "Made in Indonesia" as they're sold as unique Singaporean souvenirs.

Yasmin, a Singaporean merchant interviewed last week, admitted that it's not hard to find batik and other crafts from various Indonesian origins. But, the batik cloths with distinct Solonese and Yogyakarta motifs that she sells are only labeled with the brand such as "Batik Prada". The selling price abroad would go up compared to the price in Indonesia.

Batik Prada from Solo is sold 39 SD (around Rp. 273,000) and batik lepas (a type of batik), is sold Rp. 84,000 for 2.5 m. A batik scarf worth Rp. 15,000 on Malioboro street, a shopping district in Yogyakarta, can be sold for Rp. 126,000 per piece in Singapore.

The wooden mask craftsmen of Gunung Kidul Regency, who have penetrated the export market, have never labeled their works "Made in Indonesia".

Some craftsmen would even put "Made in Jamaica" or "Made in Africa" to their products. They admit that the location of origin is customized according to the demand of customers.

According to the chief of Bobung village, who is a mask craftsman himself, Kemiran, the average income of craftsmen in Bobung village is around Rp. 180 million per month.

Bobung village has 245 craftsman, and the number is stagnant from year to year. The majority of market share for wooden masks from Gunung Kidul is from the international market.

So far, the wooden masks from Gunung Kidul have penetrated markets in the US, Italy, and Japan. The national market share is still dominated by Jakarta and Bali. Some crafts of wooden batik from Gunung Kidul are also labeled "Made in Bali". (WKM/C17-09)