An Indonesia's industry observer said that the supply of raw materials for beauty products in Indonesia has been enough yet it is still relatively not strong (Image credit: Botanic Planet)

Industry Observer: Raw materials for Indonesia’s cosmetic industry is still weak

On Wednesday, industry observer from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Ahmad Heri Firdaus said that the supply of raw materials for beauty products in Indonesia has been enough yet it is still relatively not strong, concerning its structure.

According to the observer, further promotions in the raw materials industry must be done to bolster various local beauty products.

Firdaus suggested the government to improve the structure of the domestic raw material industry in order to lower the imports of beauty products from other countries.

The increase of foreign cosmetics in the country is due to the demand from middle-class consumers, he said. The observer also underlined a behavior change in middle-class society, from secondary to tertiary needs, including cosmetics, causing the rise of beauty products import.

Market segmentation of foreign beauty products is vast, from low – middle-upper-class consumers, since they offer plenty of choices with variation in prices

Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Industry said that there was an increase of foreign cosmetics from $631.66 million in 2017 to US$850.16 million in 2018.

Amid the high imports of foreign cosmetics, the local cosmetics industry is showing its growth. The industry developed from 6.35 percent in 2017 to 7.36 percent in the first trimester of 2018. It was reported in 2017, the number of domestic cosmetics companies were 153 firms.

According to a report in 2018, Indonesia has 760 cosmetic companies, in which 95 percent was small and medium (SME’s) and the rest were large-scale industries.

Export value of national beauty products raised from $470.30 million in 2016 to US$516.99 million in 2017.

ASEAN countries, Africa and the Middle East have imported Indonesia’s cosmetics from some of the SMEs.

In order to support the local cosmetics industry, the observer emphasized government must further expand basic industries.

Indonesia government has issued strategic policies which could reinforce the structure of the national industry as well as encourage the competitiveness of the domestic industry.

Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/128719/observer-suggests-streamlining-cosmetics-raw-material-industry