We will invite SMEs to participate in the virtual expo, as an event to market their products and improve competitiveness and added value of domestic cosmetic products.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Industry Ministry organized the 2020 Cosmetic Virtual Expo to encourage small- and medium-scale enterprises (SME) in the cosmetics industry to boost productivity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will invite SMEs to participate in the virtual expo, as an event to market their products in order to improve competitiveness and added value of domestic cosmetic products," Director General of Small, Medium, and Various Enterprises of the Industry Ministry Gati Wibawaningsih stated at the opening of the 2020 Cosmetic Virtual Expo here on Tuesday.

The expo is also projected to enhance the business capacity of cosmetics SME and promote safe and affordable local cosmetic products.

Wibawaningsih remarked that the expo, in which 35 businesspersons from across the country participated, will become a forum for SMEs in the cosmetics and spa and spa products industry to expand their market.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, in the first quarter of 2020, the chemical, pharmaceutical, and traditional medicine industry, including cosmetics, had clocked a growth of 5.59 percent.

The sector has contributed significantly to foreign exchange, with exports having reached US$317 million (Rp4.44 trillion) in the first semester of 2020, or a 15.2-percent rise, as compared to the corresponding period last year.

Various events to be conducted on the sidelines of the expo include talk show, one-on-one consultation, online makeup class, virtual Muslim fashion show, and business matching.

"Business matching is aimed at encouraging partnership between producers of raw materials and SME to reduce the imports of raw materials, taking into account Indonesia's natural resource wealth that had long been used in health care and cosmetic products," she noted.

One-on-one consultations will be held daily on various topics comprising procedures for halal certification, licensing procedure for cosmetic products, export procedure, digitization through social media, market digitization, and business pitching.

"We are optimistic that cosmetics SME would utilize this opportunity to boost their competitiveness and continue product innovation," Wibawaningsih stated.
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