Agrinas Pangan Chief Openly Invites Local Manufacturers to Tender Before Finalising Indian Pick-up Truck Imports

Agrinas Pangan Boss Openly Explains Inviting Local Manufacturers to Participate in Tenders Before ‘Finalising’ the Import of Indian Pick-up Trucks

• Antara

VIVA – The President Director of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota, openly explained the reasons behind importing 105,000 pick-up trucks from India for the operational needs of the Village/Urban Cooperatives (Kopdes) of Merah Putih.

Joao agreed that procurement should prioritise local manufacturers, which is why, before making the decision to import, Agrinas Pangan first invited domestic automotive manufacturers to participate in the procurement of pick-up trucks for the Kopdes Merah Putih.

During a press conference held on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, Joao presented several documents detailing the invitations sent to a number of popular domestic automotive companies, including the commitment of local manufacturers to supply the vehicle needs of the Kopdes Merah Putih.

Some manufacturers agreed to supply the units according to the specifications required by Agrinas, while others did not – either due to specifications, production capacity, or price issues. For example, Mitsubishi Kramayudha agreed to supply 20,600 units of Mitsubishi Fuso 6-wheel trucks for the Kopdes Merah Putih.

“In the end, Kramayudha supplied 20,600 units to the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives. This was in line with their production capacity until the end of the year. Here, everyone signed an agreement, and there is proof that we gave local manufacturers the opportunity to supply the Merah Putih Cooperatives,” said Joao.

Similarly, Hino agreed to supply 10,000 units, as did the Foton Aumark brand, a Chinese automotive manufacturer, which will supply 13,500 vehicles for the operational needs of the Kopdes Merah Putih.

Meanwhile, other popular brands in the country, such as Toyota Astra, Suzuki Carry, and Daihatsu Grandmax, did not reach an agreement because they were constrained by production capacity and price specifications that were much higher than the Indian manufacturer contracted by Agrinas.

“This is, more or less, our clarification regarding the issue that we did not give local manufacturers the opportunity or space. I believe that is not true. Because we are open, we also conduct this activity transparently, and we give all manufacturers the same opportunity. It is normal in business if there is no agreement or if things don’t work out,” he explained.