U.S. orders for RI steel products stop

U.S. orders for RI steel products stop

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Purchase orders for Indonesian steel pipe products from the
vital U.S. market stopped when the U.S. economy plunged into
recession, the Indonesian Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association
(Gapipa) said.

"We have not received any orders from American buyers for
fourth quarter shipment," Gapipa secretary general Untung Yusuf
told The Jakarta Post, adding that orders should have been
submitted in September.

He also predicted that no shipments would take place in the
first quarter of next year, with the U.S. economy still expected
to be in the doldrums.

Untung said that about 70 percent of the country's total steel
pipe exports of 40,000 tons last year went to the U.S. market,
with the remainder going to Australia.

Untung called on the government to implement measures to
protect against the influx of cheaper imported products from
China and South Korea amid the weakening export market.

"The government should venture to take measures to avoid the
local market from being flooded with cheaper imported products,"
he said.

Untung said that Gapipa had formally conveyed these concerns
to the government and asked for protection, but the government
had, so far, taken no action.

"We are now facing difficulties competing with imported steel
pipe products, because their prices are about 30 percent lower
than locally made products," he said.

He said that the country's steel pipe output was expected to
decline by between 20 percent and 25 percent this year, compared
with last year's figure of 260,000 tons.