JAKARTA - The Indonesian industry ministry has issued a regulation restricting imports of electronic goods including air conditioners, refrigerators and laptop computers, a move it said aimed to improve investment certainty.
The move follows a regulation late last year by Southeast Asia’s biggest economy tightening the monitoring of many imported goods, from food ingredients and electronic items to chemicals.
Authorities said the regulation, dated Feb 1 but announced on Monday, was issued in response to complaints from business associations about the impact on local markets of an influx of imported goods.
The aim was to develop the domestic electronics sector, it said. Certain products would require import permits and a surveyor’s report, it said.
“This regulation doesn’t mean that the government is anti-import, but rather maintains a conducive domestic industrial business climate, especially for products that have been produced domestically,” said Priyadi Arie Nugroho, an industry ministry official, in a statement.
Priyadi said that in 2023, Indonesia’s electrical and electronic goods industry produced 1.2 million units of air conditioners, while it has installed capacity of 2.7 million units. The country imported 3.8 million AC units last year.