Some cry over cheaper Chinese goods...<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Local consumers certainly enjoy the influx of cheaper
\nproducts. With the cost of living constantly going skyward,
\nfinding affordable clothing, electronics and even motorcycles is
\na relief.<\/p>\n
Consumers may be happy, but it is a different story for local
\ntraders and manufacturers of all sizes, whether small, medium or
\nlarge.<\/p>\n
Textile retailer Rusdy Said, 29, suffered losses of
\napproximately Rp 600 million (about US$63,000) last year due to
\nthe influx of cheaper Chinese textile products.<\/p>\n
Rusdy is a retailer in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, the
\nregion's largest textile market.<\/p>\n
The market, which is home to 7,500 kiosks owned by some 4,700
\ntraders, turned over Rp 15 trillion a year, until a fire burned
\nit down in February 2003.<\/p>\n
\"Early last year, I bought local brocaded fabric at Rp 11,000
\nper meter. Then, Chinese fabrics entered and sold for Rp 7,000
\nper meter. Later on, frantic local traders started selling their
\nproducts at Rp 5,000 per meter. How can I make a profit, let
\nalone survive?\" said Rusdy, who runs a family business that was
\nstarted in the late 1960s.<\/p>\n
According to Rusdy, the Chinese products penetrated Tanah
\nAbang after 2003's fire, most of which were smuggled into the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"Almost 60 percent of textile products now sold in Tanah Abang
\nare from China,\" said Rusdy, who was forced to lay off 10 of his
\n20 employees to cut costs.<\/p>\n
He went on to say that many traders now chose to relabel
\nimported Chinese products for export to Africa.<\/p>\n
He is unsure whether his business would survive at all -- the
\nsame worry voiced by thousands of fellow traders in the market.<\/p>\n
The treasurer of the Association of Indonesian Traditional
\nMarket Retailers (APPSI), Hasan Basri, said that the government
\nshould protect small manufacturers from cheap Chinese products.<\/p>\n
\"The influx of Chinese products eventually resulted in job
\nlosses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hasan said that today only 15 percent of small manufacturers
\nhave survived in the once famous Cibaduyut footwear center on the
\noutskirts of Bandung. The remaining 85 percent have gone bankrupt
\nthanks to cheap shoes from China, he said.<\/p>\n
He added that small textile factories in Pekalongan were also
\nnow on the brink of destruction. Today's trend is that traders
\nwith strong networks in China make their orders in that country,
\nas production costs were far cheaper there, he said.<\/p>\n
Cheaper production apparently allowed the Chinese to produce
\nmore variety in their end products. Hasan said in the Tanah Abang
\nmarket a certain model of local brassiere came in six colors,
\nwhile the Chinese bras came in up to 12 colors, providing more
\nchoice for customers.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, customers chose the cheaper one, or the one
\nthat suited their color preference, he said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Hasan said he had been informed that several
\nlocal craftsmen had been hired to work in China with better
\nrewards and facilities.<\/p>\n
\"The Chinese will learn from the craftsmen. It is only a
\nmatter of time before the Chinese can make Indonesian handicrafts
\nincluding unique woodcrafts and even batik by themselves, at far
\ncheaper prices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He blamed globalization for the influx of cheaper goods, but
\nsaid the government should have been better prepared in facing
\nthe phenomenon and in providing assistance to the private sector.<\/p>\n
\"For China, globalization is beneficial. But for us,
\nglobalization means the world is having us for breakfast,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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