Import Of Medicines And Medical Devices Reaches IDR 490 Trillion, Luhut: Wasteful, The Solution Is To Establish Cooperation With China

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Photo: Doc. Kemenko Marves)

JAKARTA - Indonesia is not yet fully independent of medical devices. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said Indonesia's imports of medicines and medical devices or medical equipment reached IDR 490 trillion. In fact, said Luhut, this amount is equivalent to an investment of 25 billion US dollars per year.

Luhut said the government must immediately change this bad habit. He said, one way that can support Indonesia to be independent of medical devices is to increase domestic production.

Furthermore, Luhut said the large import value was a waste of the budget that should have been allocated for other things.

"So now we can save IDR 200 to IDR 300 trillion a year, that's the same as our investment of 25 billion US dollars per year. What a waste that has been so high", he said in a virtual press conference, Tuesday, June 15.

To reduce dependence on imports, said Luhut, the government will increase the amount of investment in the health sector and establish cooperation with China. The goal is to provide technology transfer to Indonesia. The reason is, so far two-thirds of the world's medicines are supplied by the Bamboo Curtain country.

Not only that, Luhut said, from within the country the government will also oversee the procurement of goods in the health sector. Both are carried out by private and government-owned hospitals.

Luhut said, later for all procurements, it will be encouraged to use domestic medical devices and drugs. Therefore, Luhut asked all parties to be united, especially in an emergency like today.

"We will more strictly monitor hospital spending, require the use of domestic goods through ministries and institutions. Let's be united in an emergency now so that our health products can be done domestically," he said.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, targets an additional 9,000 domestically-made medical device products or medical devices in 2021. To achieve this target, his party has prepared a budget to conduct a certification program for the use of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN).

Agus said this program is also by the direction of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi who wants to encourage import substitution. To smooth out the target, the government will waive import duty rates for raw materials and auxiliary materials.

Furthermore, Agus hopes that such methods will also simplify and reduce research and development costs.

"The Ministry of Industry in 2021 has budgeted for free TKDN (Domestic Component Level) certification, which we target will be certified at least 9,000 new products. Hopefully, this opportunity can be utilized as well as possible by domestic producers", he said.