Thousands of Pickups Already Imported from India to Still Be Distributed to Village Cooperatives

Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, has assured that thousands of units of trucks and pickups already imported from India will still be distributed as operational vehicles for the Merah Putih Cooperatives to around 2,400 village and sub-district cooperatives. “Yesterday, because they were already imported, the number is still in the thousands, we will fulfil them for operations in village cooperatives that have completed their physical buildings, warehouses, outlets, and supporting equipment,” said Ferry after the halal bihalal of the West Java DPW Syarikat Islam at Masjid Al Jabbar, Bandung, West Java, on Sunday (29/3). This import step has drawn public scrutiny, as procuring vehicles from India is seen as potentially impacting the labour-intensive domestic automotive industry that employs thousands of workers. The reason for the import is stated to be that the domestic industry has not yet been able to meet the needs for 4x4 pickup vehicles for cooperative operations. Ferry emphasised the government’s commitment to prioritising the domestic automotive industry to meet the remaining fleet needs for the target of 80,000 cooperatives across Indonesia. He said he has held discussions with the Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, and the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo). According to him, the priority is to fulfil vehicle needs from the existing domestic automotive industry. “But if it’s insufficient, we are certainly allowed to source from any country,” he added. He further explained that each cooperative will receive one truck, one pickup, and a motorcycle to facilitate the flow of goods from villages to outside and vice versa. The government is also providing initial capital access for Merah Putih Cooperatives with a ceiling of up to Rp3 billion per unit through Himbara banks, with an interest rate of around 6 percent per year, a tenor of 6-10 years, and a grace period of 6-8 months. Previously, Agrinas Pangan imported 105,000 units of trucks and pickups from India to support cooperative operations. This import consists of 35,000 units of 4x4 pickups produced by Mahindra Ltd, and 70,000 units from Tata Motors, including 35,000 units of 4x4 pickups and 35,000 units of six-wheeled trucks, with a total value of Rp24.66 trillion. According to Ferry, the Merah Putih Village Cooperative programme is an important part of the economic concept known as Prabowonomics, which is an economic approach that places the people at the centre.