Asaki Urges Government to Lower Gas Prices For Industry this Year

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - the Indonesian Association of Ceramics (Asaki) urged the government to immediately lower gas prices for industry earlier this year. The reason, already a year more after instructed by President Jokowi, but until now has not been realized.

"Throughout 2017, gas tariffs for the ceramics industry are very expensive and yet lowered, whereas the government promised to reduce gas prices since 2015," said Chairman Asaki, Elisa Sinaga in Jakarta, some time ago.

He added that the price of gas purchased by the ceramics industry reached US $ 8 per million metric british thermal unit (mmbtu). This price is the most expensive in ASEAN compared to other Asean countries, such as Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore at US $ 3 per mmbtu.

"The problem of gas price is already an old issue and we have often delivered but from the government there has been no real reaction and realization," she explained.

Furthermore, she reveal that the performance of the ceramics industry in 2017 still runs in place. There are two factors that affect the flood of imported products, plus the price of gas that is too high to make the manufacturer save production costs so that capacity is limited.

Asaki projects this year, the ceramic industry will still be on the way if the government has not lowered gas prices. "The impact if gas prices are lowered is enormous because it can increase production," Elisa said.

He said the ceramics industry, including labor-intensive industries because it absorbs a large enough workforce, the government should focus more on the development of the domestic ceramics industry.

"The government should provide a favorable policy for the ceramics industry," she said.

Previously, the government reviewed the non-tax state revenue cut (PNBP) to reduce the price of industrial gas. This study is expected to be completed by early 2018, so that the decline in gas prices can be realized immediately.