Indonesia revokes ban on export of PPE due to oversupply

19 Jun '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The Indonesian trade ministry recently lifted an export ban on personal protective equipment (PPE) amid domestic oversupply as it seeks to restore exports hit hard by the COVID-19-induced economic crisis. A ministerial regulation allowed manufacturers to export surgical and N-95 masks, coveralls, surgical gowns and raw material to make face masks, annulling the earlier ban.

Manufacturers can now apply for export permit through the government’s online export-import licensing system Indonesia National Single Window (INSW).

They will then be required to provide documents such as a business permit, six-month export plan and statement to prove that they have stocks to meet domestic demand to be granted export approval, according to Indonesian newspaper reports.

The country’s exports fell by 28.95 per cent year on year (YoY) in May to $10.53 billion, the lowest since July 2016, due to reduced shipments of coal, coffee, palm oil, as well as oil and gas.

Meanwhile, textile manufacturers, who are suffering from dwindling demand due to the pandemic, switched to manufacture PPE products, leading to an oversupply of the domestic production.

Indonesia’s production capacity of surgical mask more than doubled to 394 million per month in April over the pre-pandemic level. The supply is expected to exceed domestic consumption by 2 million this year.

Meanwhile, manufacturers can now produce 54 million coveralls a month, dwarfing the pre-pandemic figure of a million per month.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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