November 10, 2025 | 02:21 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Industry Faisol Riza revealed a significant discrepancy between Indonesia's steel consumption and production. Much of the steel consumed in Indonesia is imported from China.
"This gap is filled by imported products, around 55 percent of the national demand, and mostly from China," he said during a Consultation Meeting with the House of Commission VI at the parliament complex on Monday, November 10, 2025.
On the other hand, Faisol said that the utilization of the domestic steel industry averages at 52.70 percent. As a result, many national steel industries are not operating at full capacity because their products are not absorbed in the market.
The national steel industry is still focused on meeting the needs of the construction and infrastructure sectors, which are the main domestic market. Another impact is the limited development of high-value steel products for the automotive, shipbuilding, and heavy equipment industries, among others.
According to World Steel records, Faisol said that China is the world's largest steel producer, reaching a total production of 1.005 billion tons in 2024 and accounting for 53.3 percent of the global total. Meanwhile, Indonesia ranked 14th with a total production of 18 million tons in 2024, up from 16.8 million tons in 2023.
"Currently, the government is trying to push for higher utilization," he said.
According to Faisol, the issue with imported steel products is their lower price compared to local products. The Ministry of Industry is still working with other ministries, especially the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Finance, as the supervisor at the border trading routes, to protect the domestic steel industry.
According to Faisol, steel sales are currently being hindered by the decline of the property sector, which affects the steel industry. This issue is also a concern for all countries around the world.
"We are currently trying to improve so that the steel industry, which is currently trying to increase utilization, is not disrupted," he said.
According to data from the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA), the country imported 14.1 million tons of steel in 2020. Meanwhile, in 2021 and 2022, the numbers increased to 15.6 million and 16.8 million tons.
IISIA noted that in the first half of 2024, steel imports from China increased by 34 percent annually from 2.23 million tons to 2.98 million tons.
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