"The ministry continues to carry out coaching and mentoring programs for IKMs to increase their business, including through the use of industrial technology at the Ministry of Industry's industrial centers," Head of the ministry's Industrial Service Standardization and Policy Agency (BSKJI) Doddy Rahadi said in a statement released here on Monday.
One of the product processing technologies is available at the technical implementation unit (UPT) in North Sulawesi, namely the Manado Industry Standardization and Service Center (BSPJI), which is encouraging the development of resource potential in Bitung City as a coconut producer, he informed.
There is an integrated coconut IKM center in Sagerat Village, Matuari Sub-district, Bitung, North Sulawesi, namely a center for processing coconut products and their derivatives, he said.
The center is a production site for coconut IKMs from Bitung and its surroundings. All IKMs in the center are producers of coconut oil and virgin coconut oil (VCO), he added.
Currently, there are nine VCO and coconut oil production houses, spanning an area of 9,675 hectares.
"We are ready to help IKMs who want to optimize their product processing technology. We are supported by personnel who are competent in this field," Rahadi remarked.
Several other types of processed coconut products produced by IKMs in Bitung include coconut oil, coconut soap, coconut shell charcoal, coconut charcoal briquettes, coconut sugar, coconut syrup, and copra.
In addition, there are also IKMs that produce coconut-derived products such as cakes and coconut chips, he added.
In order to continue to support the integrated coconut IKMs, the Manado BSPJI is also collaborating with the Bitung city government in providing industrial services through a cooperation agreement to optimize the utilization of coconut processing industry technology, he said.
He noted that optimization is being carried out through VCO manufacturing technology training and coconut cooking oil manufacturing technology training.
"Bitung has a lot of coconut resources and has been supported by a fully equipped port as well. I really hope that Bitung's local IKM products can be standardized. The coconut products from Bitung must be (made) highly competitive, both at the local, national, and at even international levels," Bitung Mayor Maurits Mantiri said.
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Translator: Ade Irma J, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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