Jakarta (ANTARA) - Warehouse industry has the potential to become a new source of income to boost economic growth in Jakarta in line with increased e-commerce trade during the pandemic, Bank Indonesia's (BI's) Jakarta Representative Office stated.
"After we explored, the warehousing industry is also interesting because the e-commerce business needs a warehouse," Head of the BI's Jakarta Representative Office Onny Widjanarko noted during the dissemination of information on Jakarta's economic report for the August 2021 period on Monday.
According to Widjanarko, the central bank noted that Indonesia's online trade performance had increased by an average of some 36 percent and is estimated to triple by 2025, according to reports from Google and Temasek.
Widjanarko expects warehousing to be one of the industry sectors that is able to boost retail trade performance, both in the online and offline market.
The increase in online trade also contributed to the need for a courier labor market that is not only for the delivery of goods but also food in line with the activity restrictions (PPKM) in Jakarta.
"The customers' behavioral changes from dine in to take away has driven growth of the creative or processing industry," he added.
Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Executive Director of the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ALFI) Budi Wiyono remarked that the online trading industry stood to benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic condition.
His side had created hundreds of centers as dropping points for goods in Jakarta to accommodate the high number of online trade transactions.
“In one month, we added 10 percent of our couriers. We are unable to find people because they must have a driver's license, a motorbike, be an active taxpayer, and must understand Jakarta's map. It is not easy," Wiyono noted.
Wiyono later explained that online growth in trade was also due to the export and import industry that continued to grow.
In addition to the warehousing industry, Jakarta BI noted that small and medium industries that support the processing industry also had an opportunity to become a source of economic growth in Jakarta.
It recorded the performance of the manufacturing industry in the second quarter of 2021, growing by 25.28 percent as compared to the corresponding period last year on account of increased car production and electricity use in Jakarta.
The automotive industry, as a processing industry in Jakarta, holds the largest percentage growth, at 52-54 percent, followed by the chemical, food, and beverages industries.
"We have to explore the small and medium industry that supports the processing industry in Jakarta," he emphasized.
In addition to the manufacturing industry, wholesale and retail trade, including warehousing, economic improvement in Jakarta is also supported by other industries, including the communications and financial services industries.
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