Minister Teten Reveals The Need For Improvements In The Quality Of MSME Products In The Future, Here's The Reason

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki. (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

BALI - The Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki thinks that limiting imported products alone is not enough to help MSMEs.

This is because Indonesia already has a number of commitments in free trade agreements or free trade agreements (FTAs).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) is currently preparing regulations for limiting imported products in e-commerce and social commerce through revisions to the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 50 of 2020 concerning Operators of Trade Through Electronic Systems (PPMSE).

Minister Teten said that it was necessary to improve the quality of local products in the future, so that the prices of MSME products could compete with imported products.

"We can no longer protect (MSME products) because we already have a free trade agreement (FTA) commitment. Going forward, we must start improving production quality, improve post-production to make it more competitive," said Teten after being met at the Side Event Inclusive Business Summit 2023: "Collaboration for A More Inclusive ASEAN" in Nusa Dua, Bali, Tuesday, August 22.

Teten explained, to improve product quality, improvements related to financing were needed.

According to him, MSME financing must be facilitated.

Meanwhile, the government has increased the distribution target for people's business loans (KUR) this year to IDR 450 trillion.

Teten stated that his party was working on making the MSME loan disbursement scheme based on collateral in the form of a credit score, instead of asset value-based collateral.

Thus, the MSME credit financing target in banks of 30 percent can be achieved in 2024.

Apart from that, continued Teten, the government has also issued a policy on import substitution, which is an opportunity for MSMEs to improve the quality of their products.

"If the government buys its products, it has lowered the standard," he said.