According to head of the ministry's Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency, Andi Rizaldi, the two certifications can help the steel processing industry maintain product quality, so that the downstream products can be accepted not only in the domestic, but also global markets.
"The more competitive, the more acceptable it is to the foreign market. So, it will not just rely on the domestic market, which may still have small consumption," he said on Monday.
Through the application of SNI and SIH, he added, steel manufacturers could increase productivity as well as efficiency, which could eventually lead to potential business expansion and open up opportunities for increased workforce absorption.
He noted that the steel industry, which is included in the priority industries to be developed by the government, is continuing to consistently show strong performance.
Compared to other sectors, the steel industry has shown the highest annual growth of 18.07 percent in the first half of 2024.
This growth was driven by high domestic and foreign demand. Basic metal commodities also experienced a fairly high increase in export volume, reaching 25.2 percent for iron and steel base metals and 24.29 percent for metal casting, as per ministry data.
Meanwhile, referring to data from the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA), the price of scrap in the global steel market reached US$380 per ton as of the third week of March 2025. The figure increased by US$8 last week.
In the ASEAN import market and exports to China, prices increased due to foreign demand for domestic steel products.
Chairperson of the Indonesian Energy, Mineral, and Coal Suppliers Association (Aspebindo), Anggawira, said that steel downstreaming can strengthen the independence of the national industry and cut dependence on imports.
One of the industrial sectors he highlighted was the construction sector. Anggawira estimated that for building a housing complex alone, around 30–40 percent of the raw material needed is steel.
According to him, the steel industry has an important role in providing construction raw materials, especially for the three million housing program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto.
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Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar Fauzan, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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