The Ministry of Industry is banking on the use of steel, plastic, and rubber as raw materials for medical equipment to reduce the proportion of medical equipment imports, which currently stands at 88 percent.

Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics Industry  at the Ministry of Industry, Taufiek Bawazier, said they would ensure the availability of raw materials to produce high-tech products such as electromedical devices, orthopedic implants, and radiological devices.

"Regarding raw materials, we are striving to encourage steel, plastic, and rubber raw material producers to produce medical-grade products for the domestic healthcare industry as outlined in the National Industrial Development Master Plan (RIPIN) 2015-2035," Taufiek said on on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.

He suggested that to achieve the target, several steps need to be taken, including ensuring the availability of raw materials, mastering technology and innovation, and developing healthcare equipment R&D in hopes of creating a research-based healthcare equipment ecosystem.

Taufiek revealed that domestic healthcare equipment industry is currently supported by 150 companies affiliated with the Indonesian Medical Equipment Manufacturers Association (Aspaki). "These domestic industries are capable of producing quality healthcare equipment such as ventilators [with a Domestic Component Level (TKDN) of 58 percent], hospital furniture [TKDN 68 percent], and medical apparel [TKDN 92 percent]," he said.

Taufiek is optimistic that the efforts will drive the domestic healthcare equipment industry to be more competitive globally. Moreover, the healthcare equipment industry is one of the priority sectors for development according to the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap.

 "We continue to push for domestically produced healthcare equipment to become Indonesia's flagship export products. Healthcare equipment has tremendous potential for overseas markets," Taufiek said.

In a related development, the Ministry of industry is showcasing various Indonesian healthcare products at the Arab Health 2024 exhibition. The national healthcare equipment industry has the opportunity to expand its export market to several Arab countries. In 2024, the ministry facilitates 16 domestic healthcare equipment companies to participate in this international event, which is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center, the United Arab Emirates, from January 29 to February 1, 2024.