The smooth flow of export and import goods and their financing in the current world pandemic situation is the key to improving national export performance. This has also been highlighted by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Ministry of Trade.
"We had received reports related to problems in the logistics sector, regarding the scarcity of short containers, but this problem has started to come to light. There is also about the unavailability of space on the ship because the book is full, there was a buildup of export goods at the factory location which This can result in production stops, and the data ecosystem is still weak among transportation mode actors, goods owners, forwarders, and related agencies," said Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arsjad Rasjid.
He hopes that operations at ports can run as they should, because the same cases have also occurred in countries around the world that have imposed lockdowns. So that the time for loading and unloading ships becomes long, due to the lack of workers at the port. Such conditions eventually lead to congestion, thus disrupting trade routes and causing many delays.
Arsjad said Indonesia was one of the countries most prepared to face this problem, because it did not experience a lockdown. The container scarcity situation experienced by countries in the world is expected to begin to decrease until the end of 2022.
"We hope that the flow of our export-import goods will be smooth, especially to priority export destination countries. In addition to leading exports such as garments, textiles, furniture, shoes, electronics, we also want to ensure that export-oriented SMEs do not encounter obstacles," he said.
In addition to the issue of the flow of goods, Kadin also highlighted the ease of access to export financing from banks and export guarantee institutions, as well as the possibility of a special exchange rate scheme for trade to facilitate national exporters.
"Indeed, there needs to be an appropriate scheme for export financing, especially for those experiencing an increase in orders with a significant capacity. Of course this requires extra financing as well. So it must be carefully studied what perimeter can be used by banks and export guarantee institutions, because basically exporters usually have a database and check the buyer's track record (buyer history)," he explained.
Arsjad said that the design of financing for export business actors is important so that the industry can also run. Entrepreneurs already understand the importance of export insurance and risk management, it's just a matter of how financing institutions assess and support the potential for financing.
"Our export-oriented industry absorbs millions of workers, then our market potential is so clear. Now it's just a matter of how we take advantage of the existing opportunities, so that we can also absorb more workers," concluded Arsjad.