Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian government has pushed back the deadline toachieve its import reduction target by a year as the COVID-19 pandemic hasaffected productivity and demand of industries.
According to Indonesian Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, his ministryhas decided to delay the deadline to reduce imports by 35 percent from 2021 to2022.
The ministry is coordinating with other ministries to set up a comprehensiveroadmap to reach the target.
In 2019, the government announced seven industrysectors that are prioritised for the import reduction programme, including theautomotive industry, textiles, food and beverages, electronics, petrochemicals,medical equipment manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
However, the programme was hampered by the downturn of domestic industrial productioncapacity, which stands at around 25-30 percent of its maximum capacity as aresult of the pandemic./.