Indonesia’s economy would not grow if the percentage of imports continued to be higher than the level of use of domestic products, Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara stated.
Nazara also cautioned that unrestricted imports might impede industrial and economic growth in Indonesia.
“Let this issue be a reflection for our working units or workplaces (to motivate them) to use domestic-made products,” Nazara said at the 2023 Series of PT PLN Leaders Talk seminar observed online here on Monday.
He noted that increasing the use of domestic-made products among residents is one of the most effective mediums to rev up Indonesia’s economic growth.
The use of domestic-made products is also a focus in the efforts to spur commodity downstreaming that had emerged as a new source of economic growth for the country, he pointed out.
The deputy minister emphasized that the downstreaming process, which the government advocates, aims to realize Indonesia as an advanced country that could escape the middle-income trap and achieve higher per capita income.
“All of those could not be achieved without the manufacture (sector’s role),” Nazara pointed out.
To realize downstreaming goals, the government has banned the export of some raw commodities, he noted while adding that the prohibition offered a legal basis to redirect raw commodities for domestic processing.
Apart from the domestic product use and downstreaming, Nazara stated that four other new economic growth sources are the digital economy; development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); development of green economy; and transition to renewable energies.
Indonesia has begun prohibiting the export of raw materials to increase its added value and promote industrial growth. Following the ban on nickel ore exports in 2020, the government decided to prohibit the export of bauxite raw materials starting from June 2023 as well as of raw copper, also in this year.
Source: Antara News