Hippindo Gives Effective Solutions To Handle Illegal Imports

JAKARTA - The Association of Indonesian Shopping Center Retailers and Tenants (Hippindo) conveyed that a more effective solution to dealing with illegal imports is to strengthen supervision and law enforcement throughout Indonesia's ports.

Chairman of Hippindo Budihardjo Iduansjah said an increase in collaboration with related parties to curb illegal imports was needed. Hippindo also encourages the government's initiative to increase domestic production of goods.

"In addition to moving imports, we see the need to increase the supply from domestic factories. If necessary, cooperation with outsiders can be carried out. However, provided that goods produced in Indonesia must be sold for domestic needs, not just for exports," said Budihardjo in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Thursday, September 5.

According to Budihardjo, what must be prioritized is the fulfillment of stock of goods, both food and non-food, with a focus on products that are not yet available or are still minimal in Indonesia.

Hippindo also supports efforts to map products that have not been produced in Indonesia, especially those that are easy to produce domestically.

For this reason, he also encourages the Ministry of Industry to provide convenience for producers to start the production.

"Hippindo is ready to support by ensuring these products can be purchased by our members, as long as they meet applicable standards and conditions," he said.

Budihardjo conveyed that retailers asked the Government to reconsider plans to move import activities of seven commodities to Eastern Indonesia.

The transfer of this imported location has the potential to increase the national industry and retail. Infrastructure in Eastern Indonesia, said Budihardjo, is still not adequate when compared to the West Indonesia region, especially related to transportation and logistics.

"In addition, high operational costs, including transportation and distribution, will have an impact on rising prices of goods in the market," said Budihardjo.

Furthermore, the price increase will have a direct impact on people's purchasing power, which in turn can hinder the Shopping program in Indonesia Aja (BINA), a joint initiative between the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and Hippindo.

Budihardjo emphasized that Hippindo supports the government's efforts to encourage equitable development throughout Indonesia. However, this policy is not necessarily an effective solution to overcome the problem of illegal imports.

"This policy must consider aspects of infrastructure, logistics costs, and its impact on industry and consumers, so that the main goal of improving the economy and the welfare of the community can really be achieved," said Budihardjo.