Airlangga Reveals There Is A Buildup Of 26,415 Containers At The Port Due To Permendag Number 36/2023

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (Aris Nurjani / VOI)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that since the enactment of the Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 36 of 2023 in conjunction with number 7 of 2024 which was issued on March 10, 2024, there were 26,415 containers constrained in several main ports.

As for the regulation on tightening imports and adding import licensing requirements in the form of technical considerations (Pertek), Airlangga said that there were still obstacles in the import licensing process, resulting in container buildup in several main ports such as Tanjung Priok, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Emas, Belawan and others.

"The number of containers detained (not yet able to apply for Import Documents, because there have been no import notifications (PI) and (Pertek) at Tanjung Priok Port as many as 17,304 containers at Tanjung Perak Port as many as 9,111 containers," he explained at a press conference, Friday, May 17.

Airlangga said the commodities in the containers to be issued consisted of steel, textiles, textile products, chemical products, electronic products, and other commodities whose imports required import permits and technical licensing.

To resolve the issue of import licensing and container accumulation at the Port, the government has reorganized or revised Permendag number 36/2023, which was previously approved in an internal meeting with the president today, Friday, May 17.

In addition, Airlangga also said that a Decree of the Minister of Finance would also be issued which re-established the list of goods affected by the ban on import restrictions.

Following up on the president's directive to revise Permendag 36/2023, the government finally set a new rule, namely Permendag number 8/2024, which is expected to be able to resolve restrictions on import licensing and container accumulation at ports.