LOVE FOR DOMESTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE INTENSIFIED

The Ministry of Industry urged states-owned enterprises, the central government and local governments to work together in using local products as an appreciation in strengthening of domestic products. John Fery, Expert Staff of the Minister of Industry for Marketing and Domestic Goods Usage Intensification (P3DN), in Jakarta (Friday, November 15) said that a number of national industrial products are considered able to compete with regional and global products. It is said that the quality of Indonesian products is not inferior to foreign products, so that Indonesian consumers should love domestic products.

Fery added that national product is considered to have good quality, such as quality, design, price, and is able to compete in international markets. If people love Indonesian-made products, then the manufacturer will improve the quality and design. National product should be used by people so that foreign products did not flood the domestic market. “Under the current conditions, love for domestic products should be intensified, so that we can exist in the midst of intense competition,”

He explained that Presidential Instruction No. 2/2009 on Domestic Product Usage in the Procurement of Government Goods/Services expressly mandates that government agencies shal maximize the use of domestic products in the procurement of goods/services that are financed by the state budget (APBN)/regional budget (APBD), especially for products who achievement level of local content has achieved a minimum of 25% or 40% including Company Benefit Value (BMP). As the implementation of the Presidential Decree, the Minister of Industry issued a Ministrial Regulation No. 49/M-IND/PER/05/2009 on Guidelines for Domestic Product Usage in the Procurement of Government Goods/Services.

It is said that love for domestic products should be increased because it will improve food security. The economic contribution is largely contributed by the food sector so that the love for domestic products should be enhanced. Moreover, today some of the food products which are still imported from abroad, can actually be made locally. Therefore, “love for domestic product” campaign is expected to intensify the love for domestic products.

Ferry also criticized a number of policies of local government and state-owned enterprises that prefer to buy Chinese products compared to local products. The policy criticized by Fery was the TransJakarta bus procurement by the Jakarta Provincial Government through the Jakarta Transportation Agency who bought China’s mass transportation product as a whole so it is detrimental to the national industry. The Jakarta Provincial Government bought 728 units of TransJakarta buses from China using regional budget funds worth Rp1.7 trillion.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Industry, Alex SW Retraubun, reminded of the need to increase fanaticism of local products. It is important to boost competitiveness of domestic products against foreign goods. According to him, Indonesia will not be able to compete with foreign nations when the Indonesian nation did not love its own products. “We are an ignorant nation if we do not have fanaticism of our own products,” he said.

Alex said that about 60% contribution to domestic industry growth came from Java. On eof the areas that play an important role is in West Java, about 50% of industrial areas are located here. Strengthening of competitiveness of the national industry is important to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which starts in 2015. Concerns over globalization, said Alex, should be able to provoke greater fanaticism of local products. Otherwise, he said Indonesia would be exploited as a market for imported products. 

Business News - November 20, 2013