President Inaugurates 2014 Indonesian Handicraft Fair

Jakarta (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the 2014 Indonesian handicraft fair, Inacraft, which is held in Jakarta Convention Center on April 23-27. In his remarks, the president stated that he expects the crafts presented to be eco-friendly and hopes it will be accepted and compete well in the global marketplace. "But we need to maintain quality and environmentally friendly product, because non-eco friendly goods are 'do not qualify for the international trade'. I also ask to pay attention to the environment," Yudhoyono reiterated. The President also enquired about the necessity to encourage the national handicraft industry development and the need for it to grow in various world markets. Therefore the President also called upon governments and local government to support the welfare of the local artisans. Based on data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2013, the craft industry contributes Rp92.6 trillion to the national Gross Domestic Product. The total contribution of the creative industries in 2013 is reported to reach Rp641.8 trillion. On that occasion, the president also called upon the industry players to continue improving its human resource and quality to be able to expand its market share. The 2014 Inacraft exhibition is targeted to have 200 thousand people visitors with trade contacts up to 9.3 billion U.S. dollars for overseas buyers and Rp117 billion for retail transaction. The 2014 annual Indonesian handicraft exhibition is participated by 1.6 thousand companies and Small and Medium enterprises, SMEs, in more than 1.2 thousand booths. (*)