Industry Minister affirms Indonesia's industry resilience amid raw material disruptions

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Industry Minister (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has affirmed that the national industry remains highly resilient, even as it faces supply disruptions from raw materials due to global geopolitical uncertainties. According to him, in Jakarta on Wednesday, the raw materials issue is currently the primary concern across all industrial sectors, including textiles and textile products (TPT), and this is not unique to Indonesia. However, he assured that the situation can still be addressed with optimism. “Raw materials are certainly a particularly important issue stemming from the geopolitical uncertainties we face,” the Industry Minister stated. Furthermore, he is confident that the world’s geopolitical uncertainties will soon end, and he stressed that the domestic industry has strong resilience against pressures from global dynamics. “But I am confident that we must be optimistic; this geopolitical uncertainty has lasted quite long, but it will resolve in the near future,” he said. The Industry Minister cited Indonesia’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the national industry demonstrated high resilience and recovered more quickly than many other countries. “When we faced COVID, for example, our industry’s resilience and survival were extraordinarily high, so once the crisis passed, our industry grew back more quickly than in other countries,” he explained. He emphasised that supply and market challenges are not experienced only by Indonesia but are a global phenomenon. Thus, the national industry’s resilience is deemed competitive in facing these pressures. “Once again, the supply and market problems are not only in Indonesia,” Agus said. Previously, the Industry Minister had stated that the conflict in the Middle East region has the potential to trigger volatility in global energy prices, disruptions to international trade routes, and increases in logistics and industrial raw material costs. “We continue to monitor developments in the Middle East conflict because that region is one of the world’s energy centres and a very important global logistics route. Any escalation in the conflict certainly has the potential to affect energy prices, the smoothness of industrial raw material supply chains, and logistics costs used by the manufacturing sector,” said the Industry Minister. According to him, one of the most influential factors on the industrial sector is the potential disruption to global energy distribution, given the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital route for world oil trade, with around one-fifth of oil supplies passing through it. Nevertheless, his side continues to implement mitigation measures to maintain national industrial resilience. One of them is through strengthening the upstream industrial structure, increasing the use of domestic raw materials, and diversifying export markets. “Strengthening the upstream industry and increasing the use of domestic products are very important so that Indonesia’s manufacturing industry is not too dependent on global supplies that are vulnerable to geopolitical turmoil,” he explained. The Ministry of Industry is also promoting energy efficiency in the industrial sector and accelerating the transformation towards a green industry to reduce dependence on fossil fuels whose prices are heavily influenced by geopolitical dynamics. In addition, the Ministry of Industry continues to coordinate with various stakeholders, including industry players, associations, and related ministries and agencies, to ensure that manufacturing continues to grow amid global economic dynamics. The Industry Minister also conveyed that the government has prepared other strategic steps to mitigate the impact of the conflict through strengthening national food and energy resilience, which are priority programmes of President Prabowo Subianto.