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Small enterprises struggle to get BPOM licenses
Micro and small enterprises are lagging behind their medium-sized and large peers in obtaining licenses for the distribution of processed food products. Such licenses would help them sell their goods at home and abroad.
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Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Teten Masduki (right) and NGO Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI) chairman Irvan Helmi (left) talk to the press after a public discussion in Jakarta on Jan. 30, 2020. (JP/Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman)
M
icro and small enterprises are lagging behind their medium-sized and large peers in obtaining licenses for the distribution of processed food products because of the relatively high cost, a Cabinet minister has said.
Most of the distribution licenses for processed food issued by the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) last year were for medium or large enterprises. Of 13,299 licenses granted up until Oct. 12, only around 3 percent were for micro enterprises and 13 percent for small enterprises, according to BPOM data.
The small share of distribution licenses for micro and small enterprises was largely attributed to the high certification cost, according to Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Teten Masduki.
This, Teten said at an online event on Tuesday, made it necessary for the government to assist them to move from the informal to the formal sector.
“The distribution license from the BPOM, one of the [considerations] for consumers in choosing a product, is badly needed by MSMEs, especially for marketing and as a means to improve their competitiveness both at home and abroad,” Teten said.
Based on Government Regulation No. 32 of 2017, the registration fee for processed food products ranges from Rp 100,000 (US$6.91) to Rp 3 million depending on the products and type of registration.
The overwhelming majority of the 64.19 million MSMEs in the country are micro and small enterprises, most of which operate in the informal sector, according to a recent Bank Indonesia report citing data from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.
