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Govt to relocate textiles, ceramics import points to eastern Indonesia
Goods affected include textiles and textile products, finished clothing, ceramics, electronics, footwear, cosmetics and other textile goods.
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Workload: Containers are loaded and unloaded on Oct. 16, 2023, at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded a US$3.42 billion surplus in the country’s trade balance in September, up $300 million month-to-month. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he Industry Ministry is finalizing a proposal to relocate entry points of some imported goods from ports on Java Island to eastern Indonesia in a move to curb the entry of foreign goods that threaten the local manufacturing industry, including those illegally procured.
Those goods were textiles and textile products, finished clothing, ceramics, electronics, footwear, cosmetics and other textile goods. The new entry points proposed by the ministry include Sorong in West Papua, Bitung in North Sulawesi or Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara.
“The proposal is nearly complete. We plan to submit it to the President on Wednesday and request a limited meeting,” Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said on Monday, as quoted by Bisnis.com.
If implemented, the move would require importers to bear additional logistics costs to transport the goods from the new entry points in eastern Indonesia to Java and Sumatra, where the majority of consumer goods demand is concentrated.
However, Agus insisted that the government did not intend to impose restrictions. Instead, he defended the move claiming it was to create economic benefits for areas surrounding the new entry points, as well as the local shipping industries.
“We [are simply] relocating the entry points and the goods can still enter the country,” he stated.
Agus emphasized that the change in entry points would only affect consumer goods, not raw materials.
