Business groupings voiced Monday their opposition to the newly issued import regulations by the Trade Ministry that have made imports of goods consumed by expatriates and rich Indonesians more difficult.
The Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), the Indonesian Retail Business Association (Aprindo), and the Indonesian Modern Market Supplier Association (AP3MI) believe the new rules would impact badly on their businesses.
Expatriates and luxury goods consumers will bear the brunt of the new regulations, with more of them likely to shop now in other countries for consumption in Indonesia, according to PHRI chairwoman Yanti Sukamdani.
“Already, imported goods that are vital for our businesses are becoming scarcer,” said Yanti in a press conference Monday.
The new ruling, dubbed Trade Ministry Rule No. 44/2008 on imports of certain products, is actually aimed at protecting local industry from a wave of unnecessary imported goods.
However, the associations argued that the new rules would also make it harder to import goods which were not produced locally because the requirements were so complicated.
According to the new rules, such imports will require official information on raw materials and packaging specifications, a document stating the appointment of an agency, and even presale certificates, which are not available from any countries.
Yanti cited certain ingredients such as wasabi paste or soy sauces for Japanese food, which could not be substituted for locally, and were getting harder to import.
“If these ingredients are not available, restaurant business will go downhill soon, and there will be many layoffs across the nation. I am sure the rule is not meant to cause that.”
The country’s hotel business is already feeling the pinch of deepening global economic downturn, already evident from plummeting room occupancy rates, according to the associations.
“Hotel occupancy in Bali, for example, has dropped to 50 percent recently from 80 percent in mid last year,” said Yanti.
APRINDO’s head of the supermarket division Nugroho Setiadharma said retailers specializing in imported goods, including toiletries and cosmetics, are also badly affected by the new rules.
“Some supermarkets specializing in Japanese goods are almost paralyzed now,” he said.
Nugroho said the retail market brought in around Rp 6 trillion in sales last year, around 2.5 percent of which came from imported goods. (dis)
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