The country's steel industry grew 10.86 percent annually in the third quarter, according to Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto at the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association Business Forum in Tangerang last week.
Emphasizing the potential, Hartarto said there was a huge opportunity to meet demand of 1.5 million tons in the automotive sector, but that existing national producers could only meet 900,000 tons. Hartarto expressed hope that the steel industry could make a significant contribution to the country's foreign exchange gains.
Indonesia's national steel exports increased from $8 billion to $28.48 billion in 2019, reflecting the size of the industry. Nevertheless, while national steel consumption is 16 million tons, only 12 million tons of this is met by local production, indicating that there is significant potential for growth in the sector.
With this growth in steel production, Indonesia will take an important step towards reducing its dependence on imported steel by stimulating economic development.
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