Stafsus Kemenko Perekonomian: Export Baja RI Meningkat Pesat Dalam 5 Tahun Terakhir

Special Staff to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Special Staff to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan, revealed that steel product exports have increased rapidly in the last five years.

"The export of steel products has increased rapidly from 1.3 million tons in 2017 to 5.2 million tons in 2021 with production volume increasing from 7.9 to 14 million tons in the same period," he said at The Indonesia Iron & Steel Industry Association (IISIA) Business Forum 2022 in Surabaya, quoted from Antara, Friday 2 December.

Putu said, although the performance of the national steel industry has improved in terms of exports and production, the utilization rate of the national steel industry's capacity is still below 60 percent, mainly due to the high number of imported products which still reach 6.6 million tons in 2021.

"We hope that the P3DN (Improving the Use of Domestic Production) and TKDN (Domestic Component Level) policies must continue to be implemented, especially in the face of excess regional and global production capacity and the emergence of unfair trade practices (unfair trade)," said Putu, as he is called.

In addition, Putu continued, it is necessary to continue to encourage the standardization of steel products for consumer protection and create fair trade conditions.

"The right investment policy is also needed to encourage capacity growth in sectors that still need investment and control investment in sectors that have experienced excess capacity," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the East Java Industry and Trade Office, Iwan added, the steel industry is part of the basic metal industry sub-sector which based on the order of contribution in 2021 occupies the fifth position or reaches 30.8 percent.

"East Java's steel industry consumption reaches 20 to 25 percent or the equivalent of 3.1 to 3.8 million tons of national steel consumption which reaches 15.5 million tons in 2021," said Iwan.

Iwan welcomed and thanked Surabaya for the 2022 IBF election.

"I believe this election is very appropriate considering that East Java's economic growth is one of the best in Indonesia," he said.

Iwan hopes that the IBF 2022 event will be able to encourage economic activity specifically by promoting East Java as a place to invest in steel companies, both local and national investors.