SMEs Contribution to Export Only 15.8 Percent, Kadin Says
21 November 2016 23:02 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said that export market for Indonesian micro, small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) was recorded at 15.8 percent, much lower compared to other ASEAN member countries. In Thailand, for example, SMEs contribution to export reaches 29.5 percent, while in the Philippines, the number reaches 20 percent.
"The problem is consistency of quality and quantity. [SMEs] have production issues," Rosan said at the Kadin national meeting on Monday, November 21, 2016.
According to Rosan, SME owners are often overwhelmed by high export demand. As a result, their export activities are few and far between.
Rosan said that there are a total of 57.9 million SMEs in Indonesia, equals to 99.9 percent of national business entities with a total contribution of 97 percent to employment opportunities. Rosan added that as many as 107.9 million workers have been absorbed following such opportunities. "Therefore, we encourage SMEs to dominate the domestic market first and foremost," Rosan said.
On another issue, Rosan stated that the creative economy industry had recorded a 5.76 percent growth in 2015 with a total of Rp641.8 trillion of added value, which equals to seven percent of Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product. Rosan added that The creative economy sector managed to absorb 11.8 million manpower or 10.7 percent of domestic workers.
PUTRI ADITYOWATI