Agrinas CEO Responds to Call to Delay Indian Pickup Truck Imports

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Director of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota, responded to the request of Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, for the government to postpone the planned import of 105,000 pickup trucks from India for the Merah Putih (Red and White) Village Cooperative.

"Whatever the House of Representatives says, we'll participate, and whatever the government says, we'll participate. The main thing is that we are obedient, loyal, and faithful to the country and the people," Joao said in Jakarta on Monday, February 23, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

The news of Agrinas' import was announced by the Indian automotive company, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), on its company website on February 4, 2026. M&M announced it would supply 35,000 Scorpio pickup trucks. Six days later, Tata Motors Limited announced plans to export 70,000 pickup trucks to Indonesia.

On February 20, 2026, Agrinas Pangan Nusantara President Director Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota confirmed the import of 105,000 vehicles from the Indian company. The 100,000 vehicles comprised 35,000 4x4 pickup trucks from M&M, 35,000 4x4 pickup trucks, and 35,000 six-wheeled trucks from Tata Motors.

The statement by the head of the state-owned enterprise, which handles on-farm cultivation of food crops such as rice, corn, and tubers, as well as off-farm processing and distribution, was supported by Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.

In the APBN KiTa press conference held on Monday, February 23, 2026, Purbaya stated that the government would repay debts from member banks of the Association of State-Owned Banks to finance the imported pickup trucks using state funds amounting to Rp40 trillion per year for six years.

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang emphasized that Indonesia has been able to independently produce pickup trucks, demonstrating the independence of the national automotive industry and providing significant added economic value to the economy.

In fact, according to Agus, if the import of 70,000 4x2 pickups were met through domestic production, it would have a backward economic linkage of around Rp27 trillion.

_{The PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara team received 1,200,000 Mahindra Scorpio pickup trucks from India in Jakarta on February 12, 2026. Photo: Agrinas Pangan Nusantara.}

Amid widespread opposition to pickup imports from India for the Red and White Village Cooperative program, 1,000 Mahindra Scorpio pickups arrived in Jakarta on February 12, 2026. "1,200 Mahindra units have arrived," said Agrinas Pangan Nusantara President Director Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota when contacted by Tempo yesterday.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, stated that he had instructed the government to postpone the planned import of 105,000 cars from India for the Village Cooperative program.

The plan needed to be postponed, Dasco said, because Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was still on a working visit abroad. He said the President would discuss the details of the plan.

Dasco stated that the President would also seek opinions and calculate the readiness of domestic companies regarding the planned import of Indian pickups. "So, we have conveyed the message to postpone it for now. That's all," Dasco said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Monday.

Ilona Estherina contributed for this article.

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