VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The jewelry industry is one of the mainstay sectors, that contributes to the national economy through the achievement of its export value. Director General of Small, Medium and Multifarious Industries at the Ministry of Industry's (IKMA), Gati Wibawaningsih at the opening of the Jakarta International Jewelry Fair 2019 in Jakarta on Thursday ((4/4) explained that domestic jewelry products are able to globally compete and to have high added-value. The Ministry of Industry noted that the export value of Indonesian jewelry products reached US$2.05 billion dollars throughout 2018. The main export destination countries include Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. These countries dominate up to 93.02 percent of the total exports of national jewelry products. Gati also said that Indonesia is currently ranked 9th in the world as a jewelry exporter with a market share of more than 4 percent in the global arena. This makes it an opportunity for the Indonesian jewelry industry to continue to increase productivity and expand its market. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry is determined to maintain the availability of raw materials so that business continuity in the jewelry industry sector can be maintained. In line with these efforts, the Ministry of Industry also proposed a reduction in import duties on national jewelry products in export destination countries such as the United Arab Emirates. To further expand the market access of the domestic and foreign jewelry industry, the Ministry of Industry actively facilitates national jewelry small and medium industries (IKM) to participate in international exhibitions. One of them was at the Jakarta International Jewelry Fair 2019 held by the Indonesian Gold and Jewel  Association (APEPI) from April 4 to 7, 2019 at the Jakarta Convention Center. According to Gati, the exhibition also played a major role in efforts to develop industrial investment and jewelry trade. Jakarta International Jewelry Fair is one of the largest jewelry exhibitions in Indonesia, which aims to be a promotional event and business meeting for business people in the jewelry sector. This annual event has been held 13 times. This year, 30 small and medium-sized jewelry industries participated in the exhibition, such as  from Surabaya, Jogjakarta, Bali, Martapura, West Papua and Jakarta.