Jakarta. According to Ahmad Heri Firdaus, a trade researcher at think-tank Indef, the government needs to be more selective when imposing import duty policies for plastic raw materials as Indonesia relaxes imports restrictions. 

“The government needs to make sure whether the products [plastic raw materials] in question are already produced at a competitive price,” Ahmad said. 

Mohammad Faisal, the executive director of think-tank Core, said the government needed to pay attention to the industry’s condition in a comprehensive manner. This is to ensure that the policies benefits the entire petrochemical industry, be it the upstream or downstream sectors. 

“The government needs to pay attention to the downstream industry. There needs to be follow-up steps that accommodate the needs of the downstream industry, including making sure that they can secure raw materials that are more competitive from both the price and quality standpoint,” Faisal said. 

The manufacturing industry today is facing a contraction. Indonesia's manufacturing purchasing manager index has been recording a reading of under 50 over the past two months. 

Ahmad said: “This is not a good sign. It will affect labor absorption, production, and sales."

He called for the government to not take this lightly as it could lead to layoffs and factory closures. 

“We must anticipate these effects,” he said.