The Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Indonesian Apparel Export

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development has impacted on trade sector in the digital era. Apparel is the main trading commodity which is indicated by a high demand for apparel commodities. There is an opportunity for domestic apparel industry, not only to satisfy domestic consumption but also to expand overseas market. This research aims to analyze the impact of ICT such as the use of cellular telephone and the open access to internet, as well as other variables such as GDP, REER, Population, and Distance on Indonesian apparel export to ten main importers during 2010-2016, by using panel gravity model. This study found that ICT of the export destination countries significantly affected Indonesian apparel export, while Indonesia's ICT gave insignificant result. Other variables that have significant impact was GDP. While REER, Population, and Distance gave insignificant impact. The reasons for this situation due to a wide gap of internet users percentage between regions because of the unevenly distributed internet sevices. This study suggested, in addition to Indonesia's better participation in the Global Value Chain (GVC), the expansion of good quality internet networks would enable designers, downstream industries and apparel traders to connect in a broader marketing chain.