Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Commerce has virtually signed an agreement with several entities on a program to accelerate exports of decorative products and small furniture. The Ministry of Commerce signed the pact with the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, National Council of Handicrafts (Dekranas), Indonesian Furniture Industry Association and handicrafts (HIMKI) and the Organization for the development of enterprises and exports (BEDO).

“Through this collaboration, the Department of Commerce and other agencies are working synergistically to facilitate interior design and small Indonesian furniture businesses through intensive coaching to penetrate the United States, Canada, Australia, l “South Africa and other international markets,” said Director General of National Export Development (PEN) of the Department of Commerce Didi Sumedi noted in his statement Tuesday.

The collaborative program is called “Acceleration of Small and Medium Enterprises / Small and Medium Industries Ready for Export”, abbreviated as “Aku Siap Ekspor” (I am ready to export).

Sumedi is optimistic that this program would boost exports of several home decor products and small furniture.

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The program is specifically aimed at micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and small and medium industries (IKM) to develop marketing plans while taking into account the target market, with an emphasis on foreign buyers.

He also explained that the program was specifically designed for companies still in the early stages of export readiness.

The signing of the collaboration program was carried out simultaneously by the Director General of National Export Development of the Ministry of Commerce Didi Sumedi; the Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Dody Widodo; and Creative Economy Marketing Assistant at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Nia Niscaya; Secretary General of Dekranas, Gati Wibawaningsih; President of the Presidium of Himki, Abdul Sobur; and Chairman of the Foundation for the Development of Enterprises and Exports (BEDO) Jeff Kristianto.

“As one of the sectors contributing to the enormous economic growth in Indonesia, decoration and furnishing products have a very important role for Indonesia. Therefore, we see the need to increase the competitiveness of exports of these products, ”he said.

This signature treaty is the culmination of a series of offline workshops on the theme “Product development and participation in trade fairs” held in seven cities in Indonesia: Tangerang, Depok, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar and Bogor.

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