Rupiah Weakening, Ministry of Industry: Momentum to Strengthen the Competitiveness of National Industrial Exports
JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) believes that the exchange rate dynamics in the midst of global turmoil can actually be a momentum to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic industrial exports, especially for sectors that rely on domestic raw materials.
Acting Director General of Agro Industry, Ministry of Industry, Putu Juli Ardika, said the weakening of the currency could make Indonesian export products more competitive in the global market.
"If the currency moves more, our exports are actually good. One of the reasons why exports have increased is because our products are becoming more competitive," said Putu in the IKI April 2026 Release at the Ministry of Industry, Jakarta, Wednesday, April 29.
According to Putu, the positive impact is felt especially by industries whose raw materials come from within the country, such as the paper industry as well as crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives.
According to him, these subsectors are relatively benefited because they are not too exposed to the increase in the cost of importing raw materials, as well as potentially gaining additional competitiveness in the export market.
Meanwhile, for industries that still rely on imported raw materials, Putu admitted that there were challenges.
However, according to him, the pressure on the industry has not been felt significantly because the supply of raw materials is still supported by long-term contracts through the commodity balance mechanism.
"The goods have entered Indonesia, so on the industrial side it is still not affected," he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, said the government was still monitoring the continued development, especially if global volatility continued and affected the supply of imported raw materials.
Furthermore, he encouraged industries that use imported raw materials to utilize the Local Currency Settlement (LCS) facility from Bank Indonesia (BI) to reduce pressure due to fluctuations in the US dollar.
The scheme allows bilateral trade transactions using each country's local currency, without relying on the US dollar.
"For industries whose raw materials are imported, we urge them to use the Bank Indonesia facility, Local Currency Settlement," he said.
In addition to mitigating import risks, the Ministry of Industry also sees exchange rate fluctuations as an opportunity to expand export penetration, including for industries that have been oriented towards the domestic market.
Febri assessed that the momentum could be used to enter the global supply chain while strengthening the position of the national industry in global value chains (global value chains).
"If until now the industry is oriented towards the domestic market, this is the momentum to enter the global market," explained Febri.
"Actually, that's one of the incentives, even though it's not from the government. But, because of the turmoil in the dynamics of the rupiah exchange rate," he concluded.