Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Industry Ministry has urged national steel producers to continue to innovate and increase production capacity to reduce their dependence on imported raw materials.
“If we look at the structure of our imports, metal imports account for more than 35 percent of total imports or US$125 billion per year. Therefore, we hope steel producers to make more progress,” secretary-general of the Industry Ministry, Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, said in a written statement released here on Thursday.
On its part, the government is also making efforts to protect national steel products from the onslaught of imported steel and make national steel products "primadona" in the domestic market, he added.
The efforts include safeguards and anti-dumping policies, Dwiwahjono said, adding that another instrument is improving product certification institutes to issue Indonesian National Standard (SNI) compulsory SNI application.
The next step is adjusting steel import procedures through the National Steel Information System (Sibanas), incorporated to the National Industrial Information System (SIINAS), he noted.
"The efforts serve as the government's guarantee that national products will dominate the domestic market. Hence, industries need not worry about (the market for their products),” he said.
To increase demand for national products in the domestic market, the government has also launched a Domestic Product Improvement Program (P3DN), he added.
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