MSME Minister: Rupiah Weakening Adversely Affects Small Businesses

Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Maman Abdurrahman, has acknowledged that the weakening of the rupiah against the United States (US) dollar, which briefly touched Rp18,000 per US dollar, has impacted the MSME sector. “Yes, regardless of anything, we must also admit that there is certainly an impact on certain specific sectors of our MSMEs,” said Maman when met at the Ministry of MSMEs office in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/6). Nevertheless, Maman stressed that the Ministry of MSMEs, together with the Ministry of Finance and Bank Indonesia (BI), will continue to monitor and mitigate the situation jointly with the Ministry of Trade to address the rupiah’s depreciation affecting the MSME sector. “Until now, as we see it, the impact is emerging on our tofu and tempeh traders. Because our dependence on imported soybean materials is indeed high there,” he said. Additionally, he noted that a tangible impact burdening MSMEs relates to the price of plastic. “We are aware, we understand and comprehend that there is certainly an impact. However, the most important thing is that we, the government, will not stand idle and will continue to carry out mitigation to prevent and anticipate impacts that could affect our MSMEs,” explained Maman. Maman also conveyed that the Ministry of Finance and BI are currently undertaking breakthrough measures to maintain or encourage the strengthening of the rupiah. Those steps are currently being implemented. “Then you can see, the trend from last night until today, our rupiah has begun to strengthen, has started to rebound again, and our IHSG has also started to rise by 5 percent,” he revealed.