A worker handles steel pipes at Sunda Kelapa Harbor in Jakarta. (Photo: Jakarta Post)Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has instructedhis cabinet members to increase the availability of raw materials for the steeland iron industry so as to support infrastructure development while slashingimports.
At the cabinet meeting on February 12, the President stated that steel andiron, the third-largest import products in the country, contributed the most tothe trade deficit.
Therefore, Indonesia needs to make the industry become more competitive andoptimise its production, he added.
Indonesia’s imports of iron and steel amounted to 10.39 billion USD in 2019, up1.42 percent year on year, according to Statistics Indonesia. Despite recordingrelatively small growth, iron and steel products are the only Indonesian importcommodities seeing an expansion during the period in the context that purchaseof non-oil and gas products from foreign countries contracted 6.3 percent yearon year.
Widodo said the country should firstly boost raw material availability tosupport the local steel and iron industry, along with improving the ecosystemof raw materials with price stability.
He also called for a review of several regulations related to scrap metal whilepaying attention to environmental sustainability.
Besides, he asked for better calculations regarding the impact of steel importson the quality and price competition with domestic steel, and utilisation ofthe non-tariff policy such as the national standard implementation to protectthe domestic steel industry./.
VNA
