TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that furniture and craft industry is one of export-oriented labor industry sectors that employ more than 500,000 workers.

With such great potentials, the government target furniture exports to reach US$ 2 billion or around Rp 26.8 trillion.

"The exports will total US$ 5 billion by 2020. The export markets are The United States, Japan, and Western Europe," Airlangga claimed in the opening of Indonesia International Furniture Expo (IFEX) on Saturday (11/03).

Airlangga proposed the industry to get income tax cut. Industry Ministry are going to push such insentive to Finance Ministry to be implemented in 2017.

"Investment allowance realized through income tax cut is used to expand business to increase employment, not for dividend," he added.

To boost the perfomance of furniture and craft industry, Industry Ministry also fully support local content and Domestic Goods Usage Intensification (P3DN).

Airlangga furher said that this industry is based on the people’s lifedata-style and it has to follow the latest trend in order to produce innovation that can compete against imported goods.

Airlangga claimed that there are three important factors that determine the design development and innovation of furniture and craft goods namely capital, technology, and human resources.

"To facilitate human resources, Industry Ministry facilitate vocational education development by establishing furniture polytechnic in Semarang this year.”

ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI