10,000 Containers Pile Up at Priok, Customs Chief Cites BYD-Wuling Actions

Director General of Customs and Excise Djaka Budhi Utama has spoken out about the main cause of the pile-up of thousands of containers at Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, last week. He stated that the now-resolved container congestion was not caused by customs administration processes, but rather by importing companies leaving their goods to languish at the port. “When containers have already been released, goods still pile up because the actors do not immediately carry out the removal,” Djaka said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday (15/6/2026). Djaka explained that this neglect of goods at the port included actions by automotive companies, namely BYD and Wuling. According to Djaka, these companies utilised port facilities by not immediately removing their imported goods from the port area for three days. “For example, BYD and Wuling still utilise the facilities provided by the port for three days after the Goods Release Approval Letter (SPPB) is issued, and even for more than two weeks they do not lift the goods out. Yesterday there were nearly 10,000 containers at the port,” he stressed. To resolve the issue, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) has enforced measures to ensure importing companies do not leave goods piled up at the port for long periods, thereby disrupting dwelling time. “We are compelling companies to carry out removal from the port area. From the customs side, their administration is complete, but the removal from the port has not happened because they utilise the three days at the port, a right they can still obtain,” Djaka stated. According to Djaka, the main reason companies leave their goods at the port for a long time is because it is cheaper than placing them outside the port. “Due to difficulty finding space outside, and considering the cost is cheaper than outside, they utilise that. Perhaps we will soon push them to the second line, to locations outside the port,” he said.