A total of 300 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises or MSME products from Sidoarjo Regency have penetrated the Asian, European and American export markets. Data from the Sidoarjo Industry and Trade Service (Disperindag), hundreds of MSME products that have penetrated the international market are dominated by food and beverages and processed fish. "From Disperindag data, there are around 300 MSME actors who are actively exporting to the global market," said Head of Trade at the Sidoarjo Disperindag, Listyaningsih in Sidoarjo, Sunday (6/7/2025). To maintain, and even increase business actors to be able to penetrate the international market, the Sidoarjo Disperindag often provides assistance. Moreover, after the increase in export tariffs to the United States, an alternative market is needed that has the potential to accommodate MSME products from Sidoarjo Regency. "We also provide assistance through training and completeness of legality and the required requirements, such as trademarks and quality of goods," he said.
The export assistance program is carried out every year and in 2025 it will start in July for three months. Participants will be selected based on product readiness and commitment to follow the training. From the experience of the Trade and Industry Office, when providing assistance, there are still business actors who are not serious, and do not follow every training material to completion. According to him, processed products are still the mainstay of Sidoarjo's exports, especially food, beverages, and processed fish. Fashion products such as shoes and clothing are also available, but the number is not significant. On the other hand, there are still many MSME actors whose export activities have not been monitored because they do not report to the office. There are also those who export through third parties or online marketplaces so they are difficult to monitor. Another challenge for MSMEs is adjusting product quality to overseas market demand. Sometimes, even though there are buyers, product samples can still be rejected due to taste or packaging issues.
