Industry Players Concerned as Rupiah Breaches Rp 17,000, HIMKI: A Loud Alarm

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The weakening exchange rate of the rupiah, which has the potential to breach the level of Rp 17,000 per US dollar, has triggered concerns among industry players. This situation is not merely market volatility but could exert pressure on the national industry. The rupiah exchange rate in the spot market weakened during trading on Friday (27/3/2026). The Garuda currency opened at Rp 16,936 per US dollar. The General Chairman of the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association (HIMKI), Abdul Sobur, assessed that the rupiah pressure serves as a loud alarm for the national industry because it is not yet strong enough to face recurring global pressures. “When the rupiah exchange rate breaches around Rp 17,000 per US dollar, we are not merely facing market volatility. This is a loud alarm that the foundation of the national industry is not yet strong enough to face recurring global pressures,” Sobur stated via a press release received by Kompas.com. Over the past five years, the rupiah has moved from around Rp 14,000 to Rp 17,000 per US dollar. However, according to Sobur, the more fundamental issue lies in the national industrial structure that is not yet strongly integrated from upstream to downstream. In the furniture and handicraft sector, which absorbs more than 2 million workers, Indonesia actually has advantages in the form of abundant raw materials, skilled labour, and a strategic position in the global supply chain. However, raw material leakages abroad, as well as high logistics and financing costs, are the main obstacles. This condition is exacerbated by the flooding of imported products in the domestic market at cheap prices and standards that are not always equivalent. This creates unfair competition for the national industry that produces with standards, absorbs labour, and pays taxes domestically. Therefore, the government must implement measured safeguards.