Thursday, 4 July 2013

APPLICATION OF SNI BOLSTERS UP INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS



The Ministry of Industry believed that application of the Indonesia National Standard [SNI] would strengthen industrial competitiveness of national products, whereby to enable them to compete against imported products. The Government rated that the application of SNI standardization brought some advantages, among others to lessen dependency on imported products so National products could be more independent and be more competitive.
               
Aryanto Sagala, Head of the Climate Policy and Industrial Quality Analysis Board [BPKIMI], Ministry of Industry, disclosed in Jakarta on Monday [1/4] that beside application of SNI, use of domestic raw materials was believed to uplift competitiveness of national products. According to Aryanto, competitive products must have attractive design and competitively priced. He said that products which were highly distinctive in terms of raw material mostly had impressive design and were competitively priced.
               
He disclosed that the Government planned to accomplish 150 SNI certification encompassing 400 commodity items to increase competitiveness of national products. Aryanto mentioned that today there were 4,108 SNI certification which had been accomplished. “SNI certification would be increased to promote industrial competitiveness” Aryanto remarked.
               
Aryanto said that basically application of SNI was voluntary. Somehow it was necessary to make SNI a mandatory requirement to protect the consumers and domestic industry and the circulation of below standard products. He disclosed that of 4,108 SNI there were 79 which were SNI certified or 224 HS compulsory till last year. Meanwhile SNI or 636 HS would be declared as mandatory in 2013 – 2014.
               
Aryanto said that the application of SNI was an act of safeguarding toward opening of the Asean Economic Community in 2015. He elaborated that machines and machinery products were most standardized i.e. 834 SNI followed by metal, steel and steel products, i.e. 420 SNI. In addition to that he had also standardized textile and textile products 402 SNI, chemical technology 407 ANI and food & beverages 395 SNI.
               
Aryanto showed as an example that in fact local electronic products were starting to show positive signal, but again it faded out when the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement [ACTFA] was put in effect since 2010. The problem was those local electronic products were outsmarted by China’s product in the market competition. China’s products were beginning to dominate the domestic market, edging local products aside. The domestic market where local products pinned their hope on was eroded by foreign products.
               
Aryanto reminded that the global financial crisis had its effect on weakened real sector, particularly the electronic industry. Fortunately the national electronic industry was still able to survive amidst the invasion of imported and smuggled products. Therefore he strongly insisted national producers to standardize their electronic products. In spite of sales increase in electronic products, the market share of domestic industrial products were measly compared to imported products, especially smuggled and non-standardized products. 
               
He underscore that the application of SNI was one of the measures taken to strengthen competitiveness of local products and to protect them from foreign products which invaded the market. He was optimistic that could enhance production of efficient products through controlled industrial waste disposal system and enhancement of cost efficiency. Highly competitive products could command over the domestic market and break through the export market. “A standardization system makes high quality and highly competitive products” Aryanto concluded.(SS) 



Business News - April 05,2013

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