VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI, Jakarta - Culinary festivals in Indonesia can encourage the country's culinary micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to play a role as prominent players and attract foreign tourists, the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry stated.

Deputy for Small and Medium Enterprises at the ministry Hanung Harimba Rachman opined that the holding of culinary festivals constitute part of the efforts to showcase and introduce Indonesia's typical spices to people, including foreign tourists.

"We possess richness in flavors. All Indonesian regions have varied flavors that we can explore," he remarked in Jakarta on Friday.

He then noted that Indonesia could export its spices to European countries in the form of food products.

Furthermore, he underscored the high value of Indonesian spices, saying that in the past, European nations went as far as risking their lives to traverse the oceans in order to buy spices in the Southeast Asian country.

"Today, we can simply deliver our spices to them (Europeans), but in the form of food products," he stated.

Rachman then told MSME players that his ministry had devised the Free Halal Certification (SEHATI) program in an effort to assist them in obtaining halal certificates for their culinary products.

By implementing the program, the ministry is also facilitating MSME actors to acquire business identification numbers (NIB) and other related certificates.

"You can register to our program. We will help you get the certificates," he told MSME players.

The official made the statements while attending a culinary festival held by a soy sauce producer.

Over 100 culinary MSME players are participating in the annual culinary festival that showcases Indonesian foods from various regions, from Sabang in the west to Merauke in the east.

The number of participants taking part in this year's festival increased, from 90 MSME players recorded in the festival's previous edition. (Antaranews)