The Department of Industry, Trade, Cooperatives (Disperindagkop) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in East Kalimantan recorded that there were 43 SMEs who had exported local commodities from the target of 100 SMEs by 2023. Head of Trade Division of the East Kalimantan Disperindagkop Ali Wardana stated that to encourage exports, his party did not only focus on the number of SMEs but also on the number of commodities and market expansion. “100 SMEs include commodities, and market expansion is what we are going to do. This means that by increasing SME exports, we will directly increase non-oil and gas, also non-coal commodities,” he said on Tuesday (18/10/2022). He added that the composition of East Kalimantan’s non-oil and gas and non-coal exports that dominate is palm oil and its derivatives at 10%, followed by organic chemicals such as fertilizers at 5.34% and wood at 0.71%. Ali said that he did not target the market that must be reached by SMEs, but saw which market opportunities could be entered by products or commodities from East Kalimantan. “If there is a market opportunity, we will encourage it there even by teaching not to depend on the government but also actively seeking new market opportunities by informing (to East Kalimantan SMEs),” he said.

Based on data from Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the cumulative value of East Kalimantan’s exports from January to July 2022 reached USD 23.30 billion, up 71.36% over the same period in 2021, which cumulative non-oil exports reached USD 21.44 billion or up to 65.56% when compared to the same period the previous year. In the January-August 2022 period, China remained the largest export destination country with an export value of USD 4,815.64 million (22.46%), followed by India with a value of USD 4,406.45 million (20.55%), and the Philippines amounting to USD 2,261.45 million (10.55%). Ali assessed that the projected non-oil and gas and non-coal export will continue the positive trend in 2023, due to its role which has increased by 27.83% until August 2022. “It is supported by what we are doing this year with various activities that are in contact with business actors, such as mentoring, increasing cooperation between regions, and business matching," he concluded. Based on data compiled by the East Kalimantan Disperindagkop UKM, several commodities that have succeeded in exporting are fishery products with six SMEs, three SMEs in the plantation sector, seven SMEs in agricultural products, 11 SMEs for wood processed products, nine SMEs for handicraft products, one SME for waste cooking oil, four SMEs for food and beverages, and one SME for home decor that spread across six city districts including Samarinda City, Bontang, Balikpapan, Berau Regency, East Kutai, and Kutai Kartanegara.

Source: https://kalimantan.bisnis.com/read/20221018/408/1588775/43umkm-kaltim-tembus-pasar-ekspor