Apindo: Forest Fire Disrupts Economic Activity in West Kalimantan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (Apindo) Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Andreas Acui Simanjaya said the haze caused by forest fire was very disruptive to economic activity.

“The haze due to forest and land fires (Karhutla) is currently very alarming. This condition disrupts the economic activity in West Kalimantan,” Andreas said in Pontianak, Monday, August 20.

Andreas explained that the disrupted activities were the production continuity, the distribution process of raw material transportation to the industry and vice versa.

“The distribution process is certainly disrupted by the haze. If there is a delay, then the price will be higher to consumers, and the quality of raw materials will decrease,” he said.

According to him, if the haze gets worse, the flight activities could be eliminated. That way, the mobility of people and goods by airplane will stop.

“With that, our region will suffer a big loss. Business activities and people’s mobility to West Kalimantan or vice versa will be disrupted,” Andreas said.

A greater impact, Andreas said, the Indonesian competitor had a reason to campaign to boycott Indonesian production that was considered environmentally unfriendly.

“As known, some (countries) of Europe carry out strict policies for the production of CPO derivatives from Indonesia, which are considered the products produced by processes that are not environmentally friendly. For consumers in certain countries, the environmental issue is now an important part in making a decision to buy a product, “ Andreas said.

Previously, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) noted there were 94 hotspots scattered in several districts/cities in West Kalimantan on Wednesday, August 15, due to forest fire.

ANTARA