VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): Government will impose restrictions on textile products' imports to follow up on Indonesian Textile Association's report that unrecorded imports of textile products reached 31 percent, Cooperatives and Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister, Teten Masduki, stated.

"Our Ministry and Trade Ministry aim to protect the domestic market that has, so far, been supported by the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). However, it has been disrupted by the number of unrecorded imports that account for 31 percent of clothing, including illegal used clothing," he noted during a press conference in Jakarta, Monday.

Masduki remarked that the import of clothes, especially illegal second-hand clothing, disrupted the domestic market, as the local products cannot compete, in terms of the pricing, with illegal used clothes categorized as waste and did not require production costs.

"Illegal used clothes enter our country as waste. Our MSMEs cannot compete with it," he stressed.

In addition to unrecorded imports that reached 31 percent, in total, the Indonesian Textile Association noted that legal textile imports, in the form of apparel and footwear, controlled 43 percent of the domestic market, he remarked.

Hence, Minister Masduki and Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan agreed to impose restrictions on the imports of textile products. Currently, several countries have implemented restrictions.

For instance, strict palm oil exports to Europe and the export of bananas to the US market that necessitate verification through 21 certificates, and three of which must be reviewed every six months.

"Bananas with specks in them are not allowed to enter the international market. In my opinion, this aims to limit the domestic market from the invasion of imported products. We are too weak to protect our market, whether the imported products are legal or not," he remarked.

Masduki stated that in accordance with President Joko Widodo's instructions, his side, other ministries, and the police agreed to eradicate the imports of used clothing. Apart from acting against importers, the government will also educate traders to protect domestic products.

"They will face a legal issue if they sell illegal products. We have reminded the retailers and resellers of these imported used clothes that we will not carry out repression. It is different from drugs," he emphasized. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Indonesian Government aims to attract entrepreneurs from Shandong, a province with the third-highest gross domestic product (GDP) in China, to invest in Indonesia after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Shandong is a province with the third-highest GDP in China. For that reason, we hold trade, investment, education, culture and tourism promotion events in Dezhou City, Shandong,” Ambassador of Indonesia to China Djauhari Oratmangun stated in Beijing, Monday, while elucidating on the reasons behind targeting entrepreneurs from the eastern region of China.

“The reasons regarding the importance of investing in Indonesia are related to the existing post-pandemic economic growth, the firm national economic policies, and BI’s policies that aim for stability and development, so that a conducive investment climate could be settled,” the representatives’ head, Tutuk SH Cahyono, remarked.

“Furthermore, Indonesia’s role, as holding the chairmanship of ASEAN, will also help to boost economic growth and make the Southeast Asian region to be the 'locomotive' of global economic growth through collective works,” Cahyono affirmed.

In 2022, Shandong’s GDP grew 3.9 percent to reach 8.7 trillion yuan (Rp19.2 trillion).

This high figure makes the province that houses some well-known electronic brands, such as Haiser and Hisense, to occupy the third position in terms of the highest GDP in China.

With around six million inhabitants, Dezhou is one of China’s export centers and is the home of two economic zones: Dezhou Economic Development District and Dezhou Yunhe Economic Development District.

The Indonesian Embassy, along with representatives of Bank of Indonesia (BI), are cooperating with the governments of Shandong and Dezhou to hold “Indonesia-China (Shandong) Exchange Week” event on March 22-28, 2023.

The event was also attended by some figures, such as Vice Mayor of Dezhou Su Sheng, Executive Director of the Financial Market Development Department of BI Donny Hutabarat, and Head of the International Cooperation Division of the Shandong Academy of Sciences Xu Shaojian.

Around 50 Indonesian companies from renewable energy, health and medical equipment, digital economy, and economic zones from Central and East Java also partook in the event.

At least 200 people participated in the event, both offline and online. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The government's food assistance, in the form of rice, is currently in the packaging process before being distributed to around 21.35 million beneficiaries, according to Head of the National Food Agency (NFA), Arief Prasetyo Adi.

"We will soon distribute the food assistance until the next three months, with a target of 21.35 million beneficiaries in accordance with the database of the Social Affairs Ministry," Adi noted in his statement here on Sunday.

The agency head remarked that the government had tasked the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) with distributing the assistance to the beneficiaries.

According to Adi, food assistance is a follow-up to President Joko Widodo's direction to maintain food stability and suppress inflation.

Under the food assistance program, each beneficiary will receive 10 kilograms of rice for three months, from March to May 2023.

The NFA head noted that the current fluctuation in rice prices is putting pressure on consumers, especially people from the low-income group. To this end, the food assistance can serve as a buffer to ensure good-quality rice for the people.

To provide assistance to the 21.35 million recipients, some 630 thousand tons of rice are needed. Adi stressed that rice for the assistance is sourced from the government rice reserves (CBP).

Hence, the NFA encouraged Bulog to maximally absorb the production results of local farmers during the harvest season, in accordance with the president's direction. Through the NFA, the government has tasked Bulog with absorbing 2.4 million tons of rice in 2023.

Apart from rice, chicken meat and eggs will also be distributed but only to 1.46 million beneficiaries that are at risk of stunting based on data of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN).

The distribution of assistance of chicken meat and eggs is targeted to start before Eid al-Fitr and will be managed by state-owned food holding company ID FOOD.

To this end, Adi expressed optimism that an integrated food ecosystem can be built where an upstream-downstream synergy can be maintained.

On the upstream side, the products of farmers, breeders, and fishers can be absorbed through ID FOOD as the off-taker.

Meanwhile, on the downstream side, various government programs, such as the eradication of stunting and addressal of food security problems in vulnerable regions, can be implemented well. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Bogor city government in West Java province is planning to finish building a settlement for hundreds of residents from 11 disaster-prone areas or black zones in three months.

"We will relocate (residents in) the black zones and areas where disasters  occurred. The land (for the settlement) is being prepared," Bogor Deputy Mayor Dedie Abdul Rachim said here on Sunday.

He said the settlement construction is expected to be completed in the next three to four months.

Rachim disclosed that the prepared relocation land, in Pamoyanan Village, South Bogor Sub-district, is an asset owned by the city government.

The central government will give assistance for the construction, the deputy mayor stated.

"We cooperate with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, and the Social Affairs Ministry to expedite the construction," he said.

He said that all residents who lived in disaster-prone locations in 11 villages of six sub-districts in Bogor will be relocated.

The plan of relocation to Pamoyanan Village, South Bogor, had been intensively discussed after a landslide on October 12, 2022, in Kebon Kelapa Village, Central Bogor, that killed four out of eight victims.

Five months later on March 14, a landslide occurred on railway retaining walls in Empang Village, South Bogor, hitting five houses that resulted in six deaths, and 17 victims in total.

The relocation plan has been bolstered as the disaster became a concern for several institutions and officials including Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy.

Rachim also said that some residents had been relocated. As many as 150 residents from the Empang landslide location had been assisted to move, and their previous house buildings had been demolished. (antaranews)