All out export drive
All out export drive
President Soeharto has again called for an all-out export
drive to win increasing opportunities in the international market
and asked all ministries and government agencies to fully support
the effort.
"We should step up our joint efforts to strengthen the
international competitiveness of our products," the President
said on Thursday at the annual Export Awards presentation to the
best-performing exporters.
Two days earlier several textile exporters complained in
public House hearings about cumbersome bureaucratic regulations
and illegal levies they often faced. They said that unless
bureaucratic barriers were reduced they would lose out to
competitors from other countries.
None of the complaints were actually new but their plight once
again amplified the wide gap between what the government preached
and what it actually did. The complaints further testified that
though the country's economic development is based on an export-
led strategy, there seems to have been little improvement in the
regulatory framework for export trade.
We don't think the problems are isolated to the textile and
garment industry alone. Many other exporters have often
complained, but privately, about the same difficulties. But
officials involved in the numerous chains of the export process,
being used to doing the same routine chores, might defend their
performances as simply normal by the local bureaucratic scheme of
things. The problem is that exporters have to compete in the
international market place where bureaucratic efficiency, as one
of the components that build up export competitiveness, is not
measured by the standards of Indonesian civil service.
According to our views the problems are, in part, caused by
the lack of understanding among officials about export. Officials
often perceive the exporting process simply as a matter of
shipping or airlifting goods to foreign countries. President
Soeharto fully understands the multi-faceted process of
exporting, as shown by his speech. But many officials in the
field, who are in charge of processing the regulatory paperwork,
do not realize that export actually encompasses cross-sector
activities.
The exporting process actually starts with the importation of
goods which have to go through customs clearance, port handling
and land transportation before they are processed at the plant.
Then the products have to go through the same process before
entering the international market. A delay in one of the numerous
steps of the process affects the whole export process with
various damaging impacts: Upsetting delivery schedules, delays in
payments, additional storage costs, larger interest payments to
the banks or even claims from importers overseas.
The difficulties complained about by exporters should be cause
for great concern because such problems should have been
abolished by the massive economic and bureaucratic reform
measures since 1985. If bureaucratic obstacles cannot be removed
or minimized despite repeated instructions from the President we
think a special task force is needed.
In connection with this, we wonder why the government has not
considered it most imperative now to set up a powerful inter-
ministerial team that is authorized to monitor and to immediately
cope with any potential trouble spots in all the chains of the
export process.
In several countries, such as South Korea, which has had great
success in promoting exports, the president holds a monthly
meeting, especially for export, that is attended by all top
officials of departments or agencies related to exports as well
as representatives of exporters' associations. The meeting is
very effective because it resolves immediately any problems, by
executive fiat, on the spot. The monthly meeting not only keeps
key officials on their toes because they have to be ready with
answers to any questions regarding the area of their
responsibility but also makes it easier to forge coordination and
cooperation for the export drive.