Parliamentary Budget Committee Chair Calls for Cancellation of Pickup Truck Imports from India
The Chair of the Parliamentary Budget Committee (DPR), Said Abdullah, has called for the cancellation of plans to import 150,000 pickup trucks from India. The vehicles are intended for operational use by the Red and White Village Cooperatives (Kopdes Merah Putih).
Said contends that the import policy contradicts the government’s efforts to strengthen domestic industry and rural economies. The PDI Perjuangan legislator also argues that importing pickup trucks using state fiscal resources is misaligned with the policy direction of the Prabowo Subianto administration.
“I deeply regret that state budget funds are being spent without providing added economic value domestically. This move should be cancelled,” he said in a written statement on Friday, 27 February 2026.
He cited calculations from Celios indicating that the planned pickup truck imports could erode gross domestic product by up to Rp 39.29 trillion and reduce household incomes by Rp 39 trillion. The policy could also reduce the domestic automotive surplus by Rp 21.67 trillion, cut supply chain worker incomes by Rp 17.39 trillion, and reduce net tax revenue by Rp 240 billion.
On this basis, according to Said, PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara should prioritise partnerships with domestic producers to meet the operational needs of the Merah Putih Cooperatives. He stated that this could serve as a significant stimulus for the domestic automotive industry.
“Imagine if procurement were conducted domestically. The automotive industry would flourish, absorb workers, and generate cascading economic effects,” he said.
The announcement of the pickup truck import by Agrinas was made by Indian automotive manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) on their company website on 4 February 2026. M&M announced it would supply 35,000 units of the Scorpio pickup. Six days later, Tata Motors Limited announced plans to export 70,000 pickup units to Indonesia.
At a press conference on 24 February, the Chief Executive Officer of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota, stated that the 4x4 pickup trucks would serve 70,000 Kopdes Merah Putih, primarily for transporting agricultural products to market.
Initially, he claimed to have questioned why the Kopdes Merah Putih needed vehicles. “However, after studying the matter, I understood that the President’s intention is to directly connect farmers with consumers to achieve fair pricing,” said Joao.
He explained that domestic 4x4 pickup prices are quite high, with e-catalogue prices reaching up to Rp 528 million per unit. Even 4x2 specifications remain costly and inconsistent with farmers’ limited incomes.
Based on these considerations, Agrinas decided to import pickup trucks from India. Another factor, Joao stated, is that the imported vehicles have greater load capacity, reaching 1.2 tonnes.