VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Indonesia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in June was still massive, showing the expansion of the manufacturing industry. He refers to the IHS Markit report which puts Indonesia's manufacturing PMI at 53.5. Based on the survey conducted by IHS Markit, Indonesia's PMI index fell to 53.5 in June compared to May's 55.3. IHS Markit used a value of 50 as neutral. An index above 50 indicates that manufacturing companies are expanding. Meanwhile, the index below 50 weakens.

Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita further stated in Jakarta, Thursday (1/7) that there is still a passion for business amid the impact of the increase in Covid-19 cases. He remains optimistic that the national economy will grow positively in the second quarter of this year. This belief is based on a number of indicators, including the performance of the manufacturing sector.

He also explained that in the last eight months, Indonesia's manufacturing PMI continued to be above 50. This means that the domestic manufacturing industry is in an expansive level. Industrial growth is expected to reach a positive point in the second quarter of this year. The good performance of the manufacturing industry sector in Indonesia, for example, can be seen in the export value of the manufacturing industry which was recorded at US$66.70 billion in January-May 2021, up 30.53 percent compared to the same period in 2020. Of the achievements, the processing industry contributed the highest, almost 80 percent of the total national exports.

He emphasized that the large proportion of exports of processing industry products also illustrates that there has been a shift in Indonesia's exports from primary commodities to manufactured products with high added value. This means that Indonesia has carried out an economic transformation, no longer being an exporter of raw materials, but of finished products or semi-finished goods.

In addition, during the first quarter of 2021, the investment value realized by the manufacturing industry reached an increase of 38 percent compared to the achievement in the same period last year.