Gas and oil pipes producers demand government protection

Producers of pipes for oil and drilling activities have again asked the government to protect their products from cheaper import pipes which are often sold in Indonesia at dumping prices, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Friday.

The chairman of the association of pipes for oil and gas drilling (Apropipe), Willem Siahaya, said in Jakarta on Thursday that with the government, it would be difficult for the locally made pipes to compete with imported products.

He said that the locally made pipes could not compete with imported products due the their high production cost, in addition of the high rate of income and sales taxes that have to be paid by producers to the government.

Actually, if included with freight expenses and import duties, the prices of imported pipes would be much more expensive than the local ones. But Willem said that the imported products were often sold in the local market at dumping prices.

He said that the import duties on pipe products which is now set at five percent should be increased to enable the locally made pipes to compete with imported products. ?In Malaysia, the import duties for pipe products are 50 percent,? he added. (*)