TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's exports of steel products have increased rapidly in the last five years. Last year, steel goods exports increased to 5.2 million tons from 1.3 million tons in 2017, with production volume increasing from 7.9 to 14 million tons in the same period, said I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan, special staff to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

Speaking at the 'The Indonesia Iron & Steel Industry Association (IISIA) Business Forum 2022' in Surabaya, Friday, December 2, Putu said that although the national steel industry performed better in terms of exports and production, the level of capacity utilization of the steel industry national level is still below 60 percent. This is mainly due to the high volumes of imported products, which stood at 6.6 million tons in 2021.

"We hope that the P3DN (Increased Use of Domestic Production) and TKDN (Domestic Component Level) policies will continue to be implemented, especially in dealing with excess regional and global production capacity and the emergence of unfair trade practices," he said.

Furthermore, Putu continued, Indonesia needs to promote the standardization of steel products to protect consumers and create fair trade conditions.

"Proper investment policies are also needed to encourage capacity growth in sectors that still need investment and control investment in sectors that have experienced excess capacity," he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the East Java Industry and Trade Service, Iwan, said the steel industry is part of the basic metal industry sub-sector, which was the fifth top contributor in 2021 with a portion of 30.8 percent.

Iwan hopes that IBF 2022 event will be able to encourage economic activity in particular by promoting East Java as an investment destination for steel companies, both local and national investors.

Antara