Luhut blasts firms over raw material

Luhut blasts firms over raw material

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut
Panjaitan strongly criticized businessmen who failed to use local
raw material for their exported products.

Speaking at the Textile Institute here on Friday, Luhut said
he questioned the nationalism of such businessmen.

"Using local raw material would create job opportunities for
local people," he said, reiterating calls for the promotion of
local material and local products.

"We are studying the quality of local raw materials. If they
are found to have the same quality as those that are imported,
then there is no reason why they shouldn't be used instead."

He didn't mention the names of the companies using imported
materials for their products.

The head of West Java's office of the ministry of industry and
trade, Deddy Gurnadi, said in his report to the minister that the
province's export revenue in the first three months of this year
dropped by 10.17 percent.

"We enjoyed a total of US$57.28 million in non-oil export
revenue from January to March of last year, thanks to the sale of
two CN 235 aircraft produced by the state-owned aircraft maker
IPTN," Deddy said.

Almost 70 percent of the province's non-oil products were
textile and textile products, followed by paper, steel, shoes,
electronic goods, furniture, tea, cut timber and processed wood
and sportswear.

Despite the drop in the whole export value, the number of some
commodities, including aircraft components, has increased, he
said.

The price of textile and textile products in U.S. markets
increased from $7.5 per unit in 1999 to $10.3 per unit this year,
while European, Norwegian and Canadian markets were still weak.

Deddy said that most Indonesian businessmen were lacking
capital.

"Additional capital is badly needed for export-oriented
industries." (25/sur)