The Head of the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency (BSKJI) of the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) Doddy Rahadi hopes that the batik and handicraft industry, which is a leading sector, can continue to contribute to recovering the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. "The batik and handicraft industry, which is Indonesia's leading industry from the creative sector, is expected to continue to contribute to the post-pandemic national economic recovery," said Doddy in his remarks during the Customer Gathering of the Yogyakarta Batik and Crafts Center (BBKB) in Yogyakarta, Tuesday. According to him, these efforts can be made through increasing productivity and fulfilling product quality according to standards, so that existing products can be more competitive, both at the national and global levels. Moreover, based on the Ministry of Industry's records, the batik industry sector which is dominated by small and medium industries (IKM) is able to absorb a workforce of more than 200 thousand people which is divided into around 47,000 business units and spread across 101 centers in Indonesia. "Therefore, this industry is prioritized for development because it is considered to have great leverage in boosting national economic growth," he said. He said the Ministry of Industry also noted that the number of handicraft industries in Indonesia currently reaches more than 700 thousand business units by absorbing more than 1.32 million workers.
Meanwhile, Head of the Center for Handicrafts and Batik (BBKB) Hendra Yetty said one of the main requirements in an effort to optimize industrial competitiveness is through synergy and collaboration, one of which is through the BBKB Customer Gathering activity under the Ministry of Industry's BSKJI. The offline BBKB Customer Gathering activity was attended by 250 participants from government agencies or institutions in the industrial sector, the National Development Planning Agency, academics, companies, associations and associations, and industry players from various regions, both those who have become partners and potential partners for using BBKB services. "I hope this customer meeting can be an important momentum to strengthen the synergy between BBKB and industry players and related stakeholders," he said.
