Chinese products winning in RI market: Govt survey

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 03/24/2011

A recent government survey shows that in many cases customers prefer Chinese products over local goods, a consequence experts warned of with the implementation of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

“Traders choose to sell products from China. This is causing a decline in domestic production,” Agus Tjahyana, the international industry cooperation director general at the Industry Ministry, said Wednesday as quoted by kontan.co.id.

The survey sampled 2,738 traders, 3,521 buyers and 724 companies in 11 major cities. These cities were Medan, Padang, Palembang, Jakarta, Bandung Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Pontianak, Makassar and Manado.

However, traders often said local products were of better quality than products from China, thanks to the presence of the national standards (SNI), Agus said.

Based on data from the Customs and Excise Office, imports of Chinese products increased by 45.9 percent in 2010, while our exports to China grew 36.5 percent.