Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Trade Ministry inked an agreement virtually with several entities on an export acceleration program for home decoration and small furniture products. The Trade Miinistry signed the pact with the Industry Ministry, Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, National Crafts Council (Dekranas), Indonesian Furniture and Crafts Industry Association (HIMKI), and Business and Export Development Organization (BEDO).

"Through this collaboration, the Trade Ministry and other agencies synergize to facilitate Indonesian home decor and small furniture businesses through intensive coaching to penetrate the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other international markets," Director General of National Export Development (PEN) of the Trade Ministry Didi Sumedi noted in his statement on Tuesday.

The collaboration program is called "Acceleration of Small and Medium Enterprises/Small Industries and Medium Industries Ready for Export," shortened as "Aku Siap Ekspor," (I am Ready to Export).

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

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The program is specifically for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small and medium industries (IKM) to develop marketing plans while taking into account the targeted market, with focus on foreign buyers.

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

The signing of the collaboration program was conducted simultaneously by Director-General of National Export Development from Ministry of Trade Didi Sumedi; Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Dody Widodo; and Deputy for Creative Economy Marketing from Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Nia Niscaya; Secretary-General of Dekranas, Gati Wibawaningsih; Presidium Chairman of Himki, Abdul Sobur; and Chairman of the Foundation for Business and Export Development (BEDO) Jeff Kristianto.

"As one of the sectors contributing to huge economic growth in Indonesia, home decoration and furniture products have a very important role for Indonesia. Hence, we see the need to increase the export competitiveness of these products," he stated.

This signing treaty is the culmination of a series of offline workshops themed “Product Development and Trade Fair Participation” held in seven cities in Indonesia: Tangerang, Depok, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Bogor.

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Translator: Sella P G, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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