Minister of Cooperatives Prioritises National Automotive Industry for Procurement of Pickup Trucks for Red and White Village Cooperatives

The Minister of Cooperatives (Menkop) Ferry Juliantono has affirmed that the government will prioritise the national automotive industry in fulfilling the operational vehicle needs of the Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives (Kopdes/Kel) Red and White programme, particularly pickup trucks and lorries. He explained that the procurement of these vehicles is an important part of supporting cooperative operations, especially after the completion of physical construction such as warehouses and outlets. To date, thousands of vehicle units have been distributed to cooperatives ready for operation. “Thousands (of pickup trucks) have already been distributed to the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives and they seem sufficient and can be used for operational purposes,” Ferry stated. Overall, the vehicle needs to support this programme are estimated at around 105,000 units. However, procurement is carried out gradually in line with the progress of cooperative development in various regions. “105,000 in total, but this is done gradually according to the completion of Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives, physical buildings, warehouses, outlets, and equipment, which are immediately equipped with lorries and pickup trucks,” he clarified. Ferry also revealed that each cooperative will in principle be equipped with operational vehicles, although implementation will still be adjusted to field needs. Regarding the procurement source, the government continues to prioritise domestic products. However, he did not rule out the possibility of imports if the national industry’s production capacity is insufficient. “We still actually prioritise the national automotive industry. But if the national automotive industry can only produce some, the rest we are forced to procure from other countries,” he stressed.