VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The IHS Markit company report shows Indonesia's manufacturing industry is rising from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to their records, this was marked by an increase in Indonesia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), in October 2020.

According to the report, Indonesia's manufacturing PMI, in October 2020, was at the level of 47.8. This figure is an increase compared to the PMI in September, which was at the level of 47.2. The increase has caught the attention of the Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.

"Alhamdulillah, although this slight increase is good news, it shows that there is still a high level of trust from industry players. Hopefully, this will be a collective spirit to encourage national economic recovery," said Agus in Jakarta, Tuesday (3/11/2020).

The increase in Indonesia's manufacturing PMI, he continued, at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2020, revived, and became a positive signal for performing the Indonesian economy.

During the pandemic, the manufacturing sector was severely affected by the full implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in several areas. Agus expressed his appreciation to several regional governments for easing the PSBB in their regions.

"Apart from being able to support industrial sector activities, these efforts indicate that the spread of the coronavirus has been suppressed," said Agus.

Agus is determined to keep the wheels of the economy moving by ensuring the continuity of operations and mobility of industrial activities.

"By maintaining strict health protocols. With the policy of granting Operational Permits and Industrial Activity Mobility (IOMKI). I am optimistic that people's needs can be met and can prevent massive layoffs," said Agus.

He also emphasized that efforts to increase people's purchasing power are very important because it triggers an increase in the confidence of the expanding industry players.

"We can use November and December as a reference whether the recovery really happened," he said.

This is because, he said, the drop in PMI, in September 2020, rather than the previous month, was due to the industry's lack of trust because they were still very careful in deciding during the Covid-19 pandemic.

IHS Markit Chief Economist, Bernard Aw said, handling the Covid-19 pandemic and the availability of vaccines were the keys to increasing demand in the manufacturing sector the following month. According to him, survey respondents have also shown an increase in costs in production.

"While companies do not have room to increase selling prices in line with weakening purchasing power," said Bernard.

Bernard explained, the price increase occurred in raw materials.

"Such as basic metals, chemicals, plastics, and some foodstuffs, which drive up costs," he said.

However, he continued, the company reduced its selling price.

"It marks the first reduction in the cost of finished goods since March 2020," explained Bernard.

From the businessmen's point of view, they also hope that the pandemic will end soon.

"The main key in efforts to recover the national economy is handling Covid-19. Handling it is not easy, but if the PSBB is implemented again because cases are increasing again, it will be more worrying," said Chairman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Hariyadi Sukamdani.