Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo emphasized the need for all stakeholders, especially the national farming equipment industry, to commit to purchasing and utilizing domestic-made products to boost the national economic development.
Utilizing domestic-made products can also demonstrate that Indonesians are capable of producing sophisticated technologies, he stated.
"I fully agree with the president's statement about questioning the need to import products while we can make them on our own. Indeed, the product will not be as good as Japanese-made jet pumps that they have engineered for years, but if we do not use our jet pumps then we will never know how to improve it," Limpo noted in his statement received here on Friday.
The minister affirmed that Indonesia is among the most resilient countries in terms of facing the COVID-19 pandemic-triggered economic fallout, as it has been successful in maintaining the inflation level at 2.64 percent, as opposed to the high inflation of 61.14 percent recorded by Turkey and 7.9-percent inflation registered in the United States.
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"We need to move in unison with regard to the farming industry, as each country has its own economic issues. The United States, which did not experience any inflation in the past, currently recorded an inflation of 7.9 percent. Other countries, such as Turkey, Argentine, the Netherlands, and Russia, all experienced high inflation," Limpo pointed out.
Meanwhile, Minister of Co-operatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki expressed gratitude over Limpo's concern for MSMEs products.
He also affirmed the ministry's readiness to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to bolster the country's development.
"The collaboration to purchase domestic-made products is necessary to enhance Indonesia's development in the future," Masduki stressed.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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