Rupiah Depreciation to Boost Furniture Exports
3 September 2015 20:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The depreciation of the rupiah has become a momentum for Indonesian furniture entrepreneurs to boost exports, the business association said on Wednesday, September 2.
Rudy T. Luwia, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Furniture Entrepreneurs Association (Asmindo) viewed that exports of wooden products can be increased but not significantly.
According to Rudy, although Indonesia has the opportunity to boost exports as a result of rupiah depreciation, China and Vietnam are doing the same by devaluing their currencies to boost their exports.
“Internally, the obstacle is the raw material price hike. Externally, the two countries [are the competitors]. So, the rupiah depreciation is not necessarily beneficial,” Rudi said on Wednesday.
Rudi added, furniture entrepreneurs were still facing issues with raw material price hike due to lack of infrastructures that increased the distribution cost, particularly outside Java.
“For example, the acacia wood can be found in Kalimantan. But the transportation cost is very expensive. This issue is related to infrastructures,” he said.
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