Ministry Of Industry Facilitates Eight Craft SMIs To Enter The European Market

Director General of Small, Medium and Miscellaneous Industry (IKMA) of the Ministry of Industry, Gati Wibawaningsih. (Photo: Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry is aggressively facilitating domestic small and medium industry (IKM) players in order to expand their export market. One of the strategic steps he has taken is to involve them in international scale exhibitions, such as the Ambiente event in Germany.

"Given the large potential of the handicraft industry in the country, we consistently play an active role in promoting national handicraft products so that they are able to dominate the domestic market to the global arena," said the Director General of Small, Medium and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA) of the Ministry of Industry, Gati. Wibawaningsih in Jakarta, Monday 17 February.

The Director General of IKMA is optimistic that the handicraft industry can make a significant contribution to the national economy through its export achievements. This can be seen from the export value of national handicraft products which penetrated up to US $ 892 million in 2019, an increase of 2.6 percent compared to 2018's acquisition of US $ 870 million.

According to Gati, participating in the Ambiente exhibition is a strategy to showcase Indonesian handicraft IKM products, as well as to compete with superior products in the export market.

"This is also an opportunity for IKM to benchmark in increasing design innovation, including in terms of packaging and of course being able to get information on the latest trends and tastes of the world market," he explained.

Ambiente is the largest trade fair for the consumer goods sector and a meeting place for businesses in the interior decoration, gifts and premiums sector as well as table and diningware. The event is held annually at Messe Frankfurt, Germany and is attended by more than 96 participating countries. This year's exhibition was held on February 8-12 2019.

With the theme "Gift from Archipelago, Prime Handicraft of Indonesia", the Ministry of Industry facilitates eight IKM as Ambiente 2020 participants, including Harmoni Jaya Kreasi (woven crafts), Palem Craft Jogja (mirrors and lighting), Mohoi (bamboo weaving crafts), Bana Nusantara (woven bamboo crafts), Pandanus Internusa (woven crafts), Yogya Indo Global (wood crafts), Siji Lifestyle (wood and resin crafts) and Art Classic (wood crafts).

Gati added that participation in the exhibition is also expected to be a way for national IKMs to be able to interact directly with buyers (potential buyers). "Because the sales trend from direct exporters to buyers is one of the most effective and attractive distribution channels in Europe," he added.

The Director General of IKMA also explained that in facilitating the Ambiente exhibition, curated IKM craft players received promotional assistance to display their best craft products, especially home decor. Because these products are in great demand by potential buyers (wholesalers or retailers) who visit the Ambiente exhibition.

"Facilitating the participation of Indonesian IKMs at the Ambiente exhibition also resulted in an increase in the export value of IKM exhibitors every year by an average of 99.5%," he said.

Sales Value of US $ 1.57 Million

The eight Indonesian IKMs facilitated by the Directorate General of IKMA of the Ministry of Industry were able to record sales value during the exhibition of US $ 1.57 million. "In this year's event, buyers are also quite interested in products from Indonesian IKMs. They also managed to get around 102 trade contracts from 37 countries, and recorded various orders and sales which will be followed up after the exhibition ends, "said Gati.

The 2020 Ambiente Exhibition at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, some time ago. (Photo: Ministry of Industry).

In 2020, Ambiente was attended by 4,635 participants from 93 countries. The number of participants increased by 3.9 percent compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the number of visitors reached 108 thousand people from 160 countries (62 percent came from outside Germany), including from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain, Turkey, America. Union, Russia and Japan.

In the midst of the Ambiente event, a Business Gathering was also held in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin and the Consulate General in Frankfurt. This activity aims to improve business relations between Indonesian and German handicraft entrepreneurs.

"At the event, we have conveyed information about the superiority and quality of Indonesian products and invited German business actors to continue to improve business relations with Indonesia," he said.

Gati said that Indonesian companies also had the opportunity to build networks and business contacts with a number of German companies, as well as other countries such as France and Japan. Several Indonesian participants stated that from a similar event last year they had managed to get large orders which will continue for some time to come.

In fact, Gati said, the Ambiente exhibition is an important promotional event in Germany and Europe for various consumer goods products, which in turn can generate quite good economic value for Indonesian participants.

"In the last five years, the Indonesian Pavilion has recorded an increase in transaction value of up to 113 percent. Of course, this is a very encouraging achievement, which shows an increase in the ability of Indonesian IKMs in the global market, "he explained.