Small and medium industries (IKM) will make adjustments when the price of fuel (BBM) increases, Director General of Small, Medium, and Miscellaneous Industries at the Ministry of Industry Reni Yunita has informed.
“Surely IKM will make adjustments in line with the fuel price increase. The business owners will also be wiser, for example, in taking raw materials, they will choose the closest one (vendor),” she said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The increase in fuel prices will affect various aspects of life, including the production costs of IKM, she noted. However, the fuel price adjustment is needed to maintain a balanced state budget.
For this reason, as an IKM instructor, she asked IKM to innovate and adapt or adjust to these conditions.
According to Yunita, fuel accounts for 17 percent of production costs and affects the determination of the price of a product, therefore, an increase in fuel prices will affect the prices of IKM products.
“Perhaps there will be adjustments. IKM owners must consider how much their adjustments are. Do not let the consumers move to another brand,” she advised.
She said that the provision of social assistance by the government to compensate for the increase in fuel prices will help maintain people’s purchasing power. Thus, the market for IKM products would be maintained in the midst of challenges.
Earlier, the government decided to provide assistance amounting to Rp24.17 trillion to the community as an additional safety net for the planned transfer of fuel subsidies.
“The government will begin to provide additional social support as a form of the transfer of fuel subsidies amounting to Rp24.17 trillion,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced.
She said that during the meeting regarding the transfer of fuel subsidies, the government decided that people will be provided social assistance in order to increase their purchasing power, especially in response to the recent trend of rising prices due to global factors.
She informed that from the total social assistance of Rp24.17 trillion, the government will provide three types of assistance, including direct cash assistance (BLT) worth Rp12.4 trillion to 20.65 million beneficiaries, with aid of Rp150 thousand disbursed four times to each recipient.
Source: Antara News