TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Director of state-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Bio Farma Honesti Basyir said the price of PCR tests in Indonesia is cheaper than those in neighboring countries across Southeast Asia.

“Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet partners in the United Arab Emirates, the price [of PCR test] is much more expensive than here,” Honesti said at the hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 9.

Based on Tempo's experience in Dubai, UAE, in the third week of October 2021, the price of a PCR swab test was Rp1,025,500.

Honesti made the statement in response to the public uproar over the COVID-19 test tariff. On October 27, 2021, the Health Ministry decided to set its price ceiling at Rp275,000 in Java Bali and Rp300,000 outside Java Bali from initially Rp495,000 and Rp525,000, respectively. Even then, the ministry claimed the price was already cheaper than those in neighboring countries.

At that time, the ministry noted that the PCR test price in Thailand was around Rp1.3 million to Rp2.8 million, while in Singapore at Rp1.5 million. But India set the tariff at Rp95,000. On the other hand, the Malaysian government allowed the market to decide it.

Honesti acknowledged that the price of the PCR test at the onset of the pandemic was pricey, reaching Rp2.5 million to Rp3.5 million because the government had not set the price cap. Besides, most laboratories also provide other services such as X-rays.

With the increasing domestic supply of components, the Bio Farma CEO believed that the price of PCR tests could be further lowered.

Read: Bio Farma Reveals PCR Test Cost in DPR Hearing

FAJAR PEBRIANTO | MARTHA WARTA SILABAN