JAKARTA - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that the contribution of imports of consumer goods was relatively low, namely 8.28 percent compared to the import structure of raw and auxiliary materials, which reached 76.68 percent in the January-November 2022 period.
"Therefore, the estimated increase in import growth this year will in principle support the efficiency of the domestic production system, both to supply export demand and domestic market demand," said the Trade Minister, quoted from Antara, Monday, January 16.
The Minister of Trade explained that the level of mobility in the country, which has generally started to improve by lifting the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) on December 30, 2022, can be a source of national economic growth, where economic actors can freely carry out their activities in accordance with their respective business fields.
As a consequence of the increase in mobility, the Trade Minister continued, there will be an increase in domestic economic activity which will encourage an increase in supply and demand, including an increase in imports.
However, the Trade Minister said that imports are not always consumptive. Imports are also needed to support the growth of the manufacturing and export industry.
"The increase in economic activity as reflected in the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) of Indonesia in December 2022 which is still in the expansion zone, namely at points 50.9 it must be supported by the certainty of the supply of raw materials and auxiliarys that can be met, both from within the country and from imports," said the Trade Minister.
In addition, to ensure that the use of imported goods is right on target in increasing production efficiency, the government is also taking steps to trade remedies policies and control imports.
Utilization of trade remedies instruments, namely in the form of safeguards and anti-dumping, including the imposition of import duties on temporary security measures (BMTP) and temporary anti-dumping import duties (BMAD).
Selective import control is also carried out, especially for labor-intensive industrial products such as textiles, children's toys, footwear, steel, and controlling imports of horticultural products.
"On the other hand, the government is also committed to implementing the Proudly Made in Indonesia (BBI) program, which urges the public to prefer local products, to maintain the momentum of increasing the use of domestic products that have occurred during the pandemic," said Zulkifli.
This is in accordance with the results of a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which states that during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have a tendency to prioritize the use of local products compared to imported products.
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