November 24, 2025 | 10:27 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Maman Abdurrahman has warned that the influx of unbranded or unmarked imported goods from China poses a severe threat to local entrepreneurs.
"This is a massive volume that is subsequently flooding our domestic market," Maman stated at the Smesco building in Jakarta on Monday, November 24, 2025.
Maman clarified that the goods in question, such as clothing, footwear, watches, headscarves, and drinking vessels, are not being smuggled, meaning the import activities are legal and do not violate current regulations. This legality, he said, makes enforcement against these activities far more complex than tackling the illegal smuggling of used goods.
He emphasized the scale of the problem, noting that this volume is "larger than secondhand clothing imports." By way of illustration, the volume of illegally used goods entering Indonesia was recorded at 1,800 tons in August 2025, a dramatic increase from just 7 tons in 2021.
The Golkar politician proposed several concrete measures to mitigate the market flood caused by Chinese products. The primary suggestion is to significantly increase import duties on specific products originating from China. Maman has already proposed higher duties on 10 Chinese product categories to the Minister of Trade. Second, the government should impose a minimum retail price on Chinese products to ensure fair competition.
Maman illustrated the issue with headscarves, noting that imported Chinese headscarves are priced between Rp3,000–Rp5,000 each. This is fundamentally unfair when local production costs are around Rp7,000 per unit.
He further pointed out that many imported Chinese goods lack the necessary quality certifications that local products must adhere to, which affects their selling price. Based on this comparison, Maman suggested imported Chinese headscarves should be required to sell for at least Rp 15,000 each.
"It must not be sold for less than Rp15,000. That way, it will genuinely compete with local products," he argued.
Ultimately, Maman wants the government to completely close off access to Chinese products that can be adequately produced domestically. He believes that restricting import access is the key strategy for allowing local products to regain their market share, ensuring public needs are fully met by domestic industries in the future.
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