UMKM Minister Attributes Surge of Chinese Imports to Cargo Company Manipulation and Customs Corruption
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) Maman Abdurrahman has attributed the surge in imports of Chinese products to corrupt practices involving cargo companies manipulating Customs officials.
He made this statement during a discussion on “Ensuring UMKM Advancement amidst Record Distribution of People’s Business Credit (KUR)” organised by the UMKM Journalists’ Forum.
“I have already stated that the root cause is cargo companies working with corrupt officials at Customs. I have mentioned this before,” said Maman at his office on Friday (27 February 2026).
This information had been disclosed previously. More recently, corrupt Customs officials were apprehended during a KPK (Anti-Corruption Commission) operation for accepting bribes from cargo company Blueray Cargo. Investigations revealed that bribery transactions occurred daily.
The Golkar Party politician suspected that similar practices were not limited to a single company.
“It’s impossible it’s just one. There must be many more. And the entry points aren’t just at Tanjung Priok, not just in Semarang, not just in Surabaya, not anywhere specific,” said Maman.
He argued that the market flooded with Chinese products makes it difficult for UMKM operators to grow. Both state and private banks have disbursed KUR funds, and the government also provides business mentoring. UMKM operators are deemed capable of producing commercial goods.
However, their products cannot compete because illegal imported goods are sold more cheaply.
“They cannot sell their goods today. A person produces clothing, and when they want to sell those clothes to the market, they won’t sell. Why? Because the market is messy, filled with imported goods from abroad,” said Maman.
Chinese exports of underwear in 2021 were recorded at 24.2 million US dollars. Meanwhile, import data in Indonesia showed only 6.8 million US dollars.
In 2024, Chinese T-shirt exports were recorded at 61.7 million US dollars. Indonesia’s import data showed only 20.4 million US dollars.
“This is what the President calls under-invoicing. Import data for goods entering our country shows 100, but the recorded exports from China show 900. That means there are 800 that aren’t recorded,” he said.
According to Maman, tackling the import smuggling network is key to enabling UMKM advancement.
He emphasised that the UMKM Ministry is giving particular attention to cleansing the domestic market of illegal Chinese products.
“So fundamentally, if you ask me what the main problem is in the UMKM sector, the UMKM Ministry must be able to secure the domestic market,” said Maman.