EXPORTERS GIVE COOL RESPONSE TO RUPIAH DEPRECIATION

Jakarta, Nov 18 (ANTARA) - Exporters give cool response to the depreciation of the rupiah which is now at a range of Rp12,000 per US dollar because it would affect manufacturing businesses which use many imported materials.

"Exporters' receipt will admittedly increase but their imports of raw materials will on the other hand increase," Secretary General of the Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI), Toto Dirgantoro said here on Tuesday.
The rupiah's exchange rate at Rp12,000 per dollar should have posed no problem to exporters but because most of them used imported raw materials their businesses adversely faced difficulties.
He said that the rupiah's depreciation would affect all business sectors, particularly the real sector in the country.
Manufacturing industries facing difficulties included steel industry, textile, garment, footwear and shoes. These industries were labour intensive.
Dirgantoro said the sector that would benefit from the depreciation of the rupiah was the agro-businesses which produced agricultural tools and commodities because their raw materials were available at home.
Exporters, according to the GPEI secretary general, were of the view that the ideal exchange rate for the rupiah was at Rp9,500 per US dollar.
He said that if the rupiah's exchange rate exceeded Rp9,500 per dollar, companies whose production was to meet domestic need would also be affected.