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Companies struggle to sell due to weaker purchasing power: Employers association
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Mobile phone sellers are seen in an almost empty shopping center in Pekanbaru, Riau on May 12, 2020. (Antara/FB Anggoro)
E
mployers have said that companies have been struggling to market their products as Indonesia has been hit hard by the COVID-19 health crisis, which has weakened people's purchasing power in the country.
Lukito Wanandi, treasurer of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said companies had tried to be efficient in dealing with COVID-19, which had turned into an economic crisis, Kompas daily newspaper has reported.
“There are limits for companies in applying efficiency. Like it or not, companies need to sell. We face oversupply when no one buys,” Lukito, Santini Group president director, said on Sunday.
Read also: Retail recovery depends on people’s purchasing power: Analysts
Household spending, which accounts for more than half of GDP, fell 5.51 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, while investment, the second-largest contributor, contracted 8.61 percent, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
Lukito went on to say that if oversupply went longer, it could end up with companies cutting off their employees.
Separately, Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki) chairman Edy Suyanto lauded the government's decision to provide a stimulus and recovery program for the national economy, which pushed up demand in the market.
