Logistics costs high, Purbaya calls for air cargo standardisation to be completed soon
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has called for regulations on standardising air cargo cost components and synchronising business processes to be completed promptly, in an effort to curb logistics costs that have been reported as relatively high.
“We are trying to control logistics costs with appropriate policies so that the flow of goods improves,” Purbaya said after the 14th Debottlenecking Channel Meeting at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The statement was made in response to complaints from the Indonesian Express, Postal and Logistics Service Providers Association (Asperindo) regarding two problems in the air cargo logistics chain.
The first problem relates to charges for Cargo and Postal Security Inspection Services (Jasper), Airport Related Services (Jaster), and the Standard Ground Handling Agreement (SGHA) in the air cargo delivery chain.
Asperindo stated that these charges are imposed on top of an already multi-layered cargo terminal cost structure, including Regulated Agent (RA) fees.
Asperindo considers the Jasper and Jaster charges as potentially duplicating functions and costs previously handled by RAs, thereby adding to the burden on the national logistics supply chain.
The second problem concerns the lack of uniformity in volumetric weight calculation standards for cargo among airlines.
In its complaint, Asperindo noted that since 16 June 2025, one airline has adopted a divisor of 5,000, whereas the industry previously generally referred to a divisor of 6,000.
This has led to an increase in chargeable weight for light but bulky goods of up to around 20 percent.
Asperindo argues that the discrepancy does not refer to a single standard guideline and could potentially drive up shipping costs, burdening businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the e-commerce sector.
The difference is also considered to widen price disparities in the outermost, frontier and least developed regions (3T).
Responding to the matter, the Finance Minister said both issues are important for inter-island goods transport.
“This is important because it is one of the processes for controlling logistics costs. Moreover, we have many inter-island routes; otherwise, as Asperindo members mentioned earlier, inter-island goods transport becomes expensive,” he explained.
As a follow-up, the Ministry of Transportation will accelerate the completion of a Ministerial Regulation on standardising air cargo cost components and synchronising business processes.
The regulation is expected to provide clarity on air cargo cost components, making the cost structure more transparent and supporting logistics cost efficiency.
“The Ministry of Transportation will accelerate the process of drafting the Ministerial Regulation, so that services at airports will be clear,” Purbaya said.