'competing with Chinese tableware, Indonesian ceramics are like a middleweight boxer fighting in a heavyweight match.'

摘要

Competing with Chinese tableware, Indonesian ceramics are like a middleweight boxer fighting in a heavyweight match. Chinese ceramics are only half the selling prices of local products. A dozen local plates, for example, cost Rpl8,000. But China can sell at Rpl2,000. A local tea set is usually sold at Rp25,000, against only Rpl2,000 for Chinese products. Therefore, ceramic industrial utilization has now dropped to only around 60 percent. In fact, ceramic manufacturing investments have totaled Rp30 trillion. Does China dump its goods cheaply? It doesn't either. The ceramics association admitted that China sold at actual prices. It is because its production costs are indeed low while its productivity is high. For instance, a worker in China is capable of producing almost four times as many products as an Indonesian can. In plate production, a Chinese worker can turn out 1,000 pieces, compared to only 300 here. "In general, China can sell at prices lower than those of Indonesian products," said A. Widjaya. So, Indonesia is requesting protection through the safeguard system.