VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Minister for Cooperatives and Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Teten Masduki said that the export demand of Indonesian MSMEs is still high amid the Covid-19 pandemic. However, some obstacles still persist, beginning from production capacity to container availability. This was expressed in a press statement when he visied Purworejo, Central Java on Sunday (29/8).

Minister Teten Masduki stated that there are many export demands for furniture, coffee, tropical fruits, and foods.

He further said that container scarcity can be handled with additional shipping costs, which is quite expensive. About the shipping cost, Minister Teten Masduki said that it can be discussed and formulated with the inter-ministerial National Economic Recovery Committee.

He also explained that currently he is targeting export-potential MSMEs that have marked demand but their supply chain needs some improvement. For instance, briquettes made from coconut shells and palm sugar have very great export demand that can be developed.

Although the demand of two commodities is high, MSMEs in Sulawesi and West Java cannot fulfill the demand because of many conditions, starting from production capacity to the management issues. Until now, the MSMEs' export contribution is still 14.37 percent. In a such condition, Minister Teten Masduki recommended that the MSMEs can focus on domestic markets that can substitute the import products, such as fruits and muslim fashion. If the economy is fully restored, he hopes that domestic consumption can keep growing. Because the Indonesian economy is supported by household consumption up to 53 percent.

Minister Teten Masduki is optimistic that the social restrictions can help reviving the economy.