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Local firms lose out as election merchandise is imported, ministry says
The SMEs ministry says that local businesses that usually anticipate making a killing during an election year, especially those in the garment and printing sectors, are losing out to cheaper merchandise that some candidates and political parties are importing from overseas suppliers.
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A worker cleans ceramic tiles that bear the portraits of candidates and the logos of political parties contesting the 2024 general election, on Dec. 4, 2023 at a ceramic tile factory in Magelang, Central Java. (Antara/Anis Efizudin)
Small local businesses selling election merchandise had seen their sales plummet during the current campaign season due to a large amount of imported merchandise, according to the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry.
The ministry alleges that some candidates and political parties contesting the 2024 general election have opted to procure many of their campaign materials from overseas suppliers, as these were much cheaper than goods produced locally.
“In past elections that took place five, 10 years ago, many [candidates and parties] placed orders with local SMEs. This time, the orders were made through e-commerce, and we know that many of the goods sold online come from overseas,” ministry spokesperson Yulius told a press conference on Monday, as quoted by Antara.
Read also: Textile industry to lay off more workers as export markets continue falling
Yulius said he had met with more than a dozen traders in Jakarta’s textile and garment markets, including Tanah Abang and Senen. These traders had pointed to a shift in the trend for procuring campaign merchandise, and that some buyers had ordered goods stamped with the logos of Indonesian political parties from suppliers in China.
Tanah Abang trader Dody Ariyanto told the same press conference that the much shorter campaign period, which had been cut from 6 months previously to just 2.5 months this election season, had also contributed to a decline in sales.
Dody added that during the last election season in 2019, traders could earn around Rp 20 million (US$1,287), but now they were earning around 70 percent less.
