Rise Of Imported Products In Indonesia, Minister Of Industry Asks Other Ministries To Seriously Handle

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has opened its voice regarding the purchase of imported products that are still high in Indonesia. One of them is the hijab product.

Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that controlling imports is under the authority of other ministries. Thus, serious efforts are needed to handle it.

"That's what we have always said many times and will not be bored because the control of imports is not in our hands, it is not our authority. So, we ask other ministries to be more serious in controlling imports," said Minister of Industry Agus when met at the Ministry of Industry Building, Jakarta, Wednesday, December 6.

Minister of Industry Agus emphasized that actually hijab products themselves can be met by domestic industries without imports. "The only problem is, right, when there is an onslaught of imported goods, the shape may be dumping, the price is very cheap. Well, that's what makes our products depressed," he said.

He considered, one of the most important keys for the development of domestic industries is to control the entry of illegal imported products.

"And that authority does not exist to us, unfortunately, the authority lies with other ministries/agencies. So, I will never get tired of asking other ministries/agencies to control this well," he added.

Previously reported, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) highlighted the issue of purchasing hijab products from abroad which reached 1.06 billion pcs throughout 2022. As for this amount, domestically made hijab products only reached 25 percent.

This was revealed by the Assistant Deputy for Financing and Investment of SMEs Deputy for SMEs at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Temmy Satya Permana, Friday, November 17.

"A total of 1.06 billion pcs of the hijab were purchased by the public in 2022. Of that number, only 25 percent of domestic products are available," said Temmy.

Temmy assessed that the price of the hijab product was very cheap, so the Indonesian people were tempted to buy it.

"We know (Indonesia) can produce hijab, but in fact many foreign products have entered us and that is the entry (price) of Rp. 5,000-Rp. 10,000 to Indonesia," he said.