BPOM head Penny K. Lukito attributed the higher demand to greater public awareness on health and cleanliness which has led to increased use of herbal products and cosmetics.
"This opportunity should be used so that business players, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) making herbal medicines and cosmetics can produce quality products," she said at an online forum, accessed from here on Wednesday.
For this reason, supports given to MSMEs must be optimized through various government policies, she added.
The traditional medicine and cosmetics industries play a remarkable role in the national economy, Lukito opined. Therefore, the government strongly supports the growth of the herbal medicines and cosmetics industries, she said.
"We encourage herbal medicine and cosmetic SMEs to be able to develop potential, local wisdom, and natural resources in all regions in Indonesia so that commodities that have superiority, uniqueness, quality, and competitiveness can be produced," she remarked.
BPOM data showed an increase in the number of products that received distribution permits in 2020, she informed. There was a 25.24-percent iease n traditional medicine products and 2.33 percent in cosmetic products, she added.
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The agency also recorded that in 2020, the number of applications for the registration of traditional medicines stood at 9,125. Meanwhile, the number of applications for the registration of cosmetics was pegged at 75,530.
The number of applications was higher compared to 2019, when 7,286 applications for traditional medicines and 73,810 applications for cosmetics were received, she noted.
"The increase in registrations was probably caused by the increasing number of business players that are migrating from other sectors to traditional medicines and cosmetics sectors," she said.
The BPOM head affirmed that her agency has developed several programs to support the development of MSMEs such as training, technical guidance, and assistance, which are aimed at assisting business players both in preparing production facilities and obtaining product distribution permits.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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