HIMKI pushes for domestic market strengthening to protect furniture industry from global pressures

Amid the current momentum of global pressures, this must be utilised as a turning point to build industry self-reliance based on added value. Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industries Association (HIMKI) is pushing for the strengthening of the domestic market as a strategic step to protect the national furniture and crafts industry amid increasingly complex global pressures. HIMKI General Chairman Abdul Sobur, in a statement in Jakarta on Friday, assessed that pressures from conflicts, such as currency depreciation, are not merely ordinary market turbulence but a reminder for the government to bolster the domestic market. In the last five years, he said, currency exchange rate movements have occurred alongside rising global interest rates, geopolitical conflicts disrupting supply chains, and the strengthening of the US dollar. According to him, in the furniture and crafts sector, which absorbs more than 2 million workers, Indonesia actually has advantages, ranging from the availability of raw materials to high craftsmanship skills. However, the challenge is that downstream industries often lack raw materials due to ongoing leaks in raw material exports abroad. On the other hand, high logistics costs and suboptimal access to financing further pressure business competitiveness. According to him, this results in the industry facing layered pressures every time there is geopolitical tension impacting exchange rates, from rising production and logistics costs, while opportunities to enhance competitiveness cannot be fully utilised. Furthermore, HIMKI also highlighted the massive influx of cheap imported products that often do not meet quality standards and principles of fair business competition. Therefore, HIMKI is urging the government to take strategic steps through measured safeguard policies to protect the national industry from the onslaught of non-competitive imports. According to HIMKI, the current momentum of global pressures must be utilised as a turning point to build industry self-reliance based on added value. Several concrete steps are deemed necessary, namely first, stopping the leakage of strategic raw materials such as wood and rattan so they can be prioritised for domestic industries. Second, strengthening the domestic market through selective tightening of finished goods imports, especially for products that can already be produced domestically with competitive quality. Third, strengthening industry policy bias through more competitive financing access, logistics efficiency, and regulatory certainty. Fourth, strengthening trade diplomacy to open broader and fairer global market access. HIMKI notes that the global furniture market value reaches more than $200 billion. However, Indonesia’s exports are still around $2.4 billion. “This shows that there is still vast room for growth,” he said. Previously, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa opined that the rupiah exchange rate should strengthen given the strong performance of national economic fundamentals. However, he left intervention strategies to Bank Indonesia (BI) as the authority responsible for maintaining rupiah exchange rate stability.