August 30, 2025 | 03:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that he will evaluate Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 16 of 2025 if it disrupts the industry. "The regulation can indeed be revised; it's not a problem, but it must be evaluated," said Budi to journalists at the Jakarta International Convention Center on Friday, August 29, 2025. This regulation governs import policies and regulations.
His statement was made in response to the complaints of the Smallholder Sugarcane Farmers Association (APTRI) regarding the new import policy, which is deemed to threaten the domestic industry's fate. Budi stated that the government will not immediately evaluate the new regulation, which will take effect starting tomorrow, Saturday, August 30, 2025.
Budi said that the government will first monitor the implementation of the regulation. "If we want to evaluate, it should be for those already in effect," he said.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of APTRI Soemitro Samadikoen explained that Permendag 16 of 2025 could threaten national sugar production. This is because the regulation allows the import of ethanol without approval, conditions, or recommendations from the Ministry of Industry.
According to Soemitro, the exemption of imports is stated in Article 93 letter c, which revokes the approval for the import of other fuels, fuels, and fuel mixtures with producer importer identification numbers (API-P) and general importer identification numbers (API-U), and is declared ineffective electronically through the INATrade system.
Soemitro explained that ethanol is a byproduct of sugarcane that contributes to various industries, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages.
If imports are widely opened, Soemitro stated that domestic industrialists will turn to buying from abroad because the prices are cheaper. Moreover, he added that he received reports of domestic producers experiencing a decrease in sales before the import relaxation was implemented. "Other countries are enticed to enter here because there are opportunities," said Soemitro.
He is worried that the domestic industry will engage in unfair competition because the floodgates on imports are opening. Furthermore, Soemitro said that Indonesian agricultural products are still inferior to those of other countries.
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