Day: July 19, 2021

Jakarta – Indonesia’s exports of manufactured goods increased 33.45 percent to reach US$81.07 billion in the first half of 2021 as compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the Industry Ministry.

The manufacturing industry contributed 78.80 percent of Indonesia’s total exports that reached US$102.87 billion in the first half of 2021.

“The government is making every effort to ensure that the industrial sector will remain productive and competitive to meet the market demand and contribute to easing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy,” Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita noted in a written statement released on Sunday.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), despite the COVID-19 pandemic-induced pressure, the exports of manufactured goods rose 9.7 percent to reach US$14.08 billion in June 2021, from US$12.83 billion a month earlier.

The increase in exports of manufactured goods is expected to help expedite the national economic recovery.

The exports of manufactured goods, valued at US$14.08 billion in June 2021, contributed 75.91 percent of the national exports totaling US$18.55 billion.

The export performance suggested that the manufacturing industry remained the biggest contributor to the country’s total exports in the first half of 2021.

“The large proportion of exports from the manufacturing industry shows a shift in Indonesia’s exports, from primary commodities to manufactured goods that have high added value,” he remarked.

Manufacturing industries that dominated exports in June 2021 comprised the iron and steel industry, with US$1.99 billion; animal and vegetable oil, with US$1.89 billion; electronic machine and appliances, with US$1 billion; vehicles and spare parts, with US$734.6 million; and rubber and rubber products, with US$605 million.

The improving export performance has led the country to record a trade surplus of US$11.86 billion in the first semester of 2021.

Source: Antara News

Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara – Police in Sabu Raijua district, East Nusa Tenggara province are investigating three people in connection with an attempt to smuggle four drums of subsidized diesel oil out of Indonesian territory. “The investigation of the three people is still under way. The police have not found who was behind the alleged smuggling attempt and thus, they are still continuing the investigation,” chief of the public relations section of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial police, Senior Commissioner Rishian Krisna B, told ANTARA in the provincial capital Kupang on Monday.

The three people have been identified by their initials as MDJR, MNH, and KKNG, he said adding, two of them served as drivers of the trucks used in the alleged smuggling attempt, while the third owned the trucks, he said.

Based on the preliminary investigation, KKNG is an entrepreneur who is currently working on a government project in Sabu Raijua district, he informed.

Police have not arrived at any conclusions on the link between the smuggling attempt and the project, Krisna B said.

“The three are being investigated only as witnesses,” he added.

The case came to light after police officers on patrol in Seba, the capital of Sabu Raijua district, found MDJR and MNH filling subsidized diesel oil in several drums loaded on two trucks at a local gas station, he informed.

Police detained the two truck drivers for questioning, who admitted they were taking the diesel oil to the home of KKNG, the owner of the two trucks, he added.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – The Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) handed over the investigation into the cause of the fire that broke out in one of the service rooms on the night of July 18 to the police.

“The fire occurred at around 21:30 WIB on the 1st floor of BPOM Jakarta’s F West Building,” the BPOM noted in a written statement in Jakarta, Monday morning, as confirmed by the BPOM’s Public Relations officer, Herma.

According to the statement, several officers were involved in the electrical panel rejuvenation work in one of the rooms before the fire broke out.

Herma informed that at around 10 p.m. local lime, firefighters had managed to successfully douse the fire by involving eight firefighting vehicles and nine supporting cars from the Central Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency.

The agency said, the cause of the fire is still being probed by the Johar Baru Sector Police, Central Jakarta.

The BPOM confirmed no injuries and fatalities in the incident. The BPOM ensured that the damage that occurred in one room did not interfere with the service’s function.

The agency expressed gratitude to all parties, especially the firefighters and local police, who acted quickly to extinguish the fire and secure the situation at the scene of fire.

Source: Antara News