UMKM in North Sumatra Exports 9 Tonnes of Banana Crisps to Malaysia

Jakarta, Kompas.com - A micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (UMKM) in North Sumatra (Sumut), Archilla, has exported 9 tonnes of kepok banana crisps valued at Rp 270 million to Malaysia on Saturday (27 February 2026).

Trade Minister Budi Santoso oversaw the dispatch of the processed plantation product in Tebing Tinggi City, North Sumatra.

“This export demonstrates that regional SMEs possess the competitiveness and quality that can be accepted by the global market. We hope increasingly more UMKM entrepreneurs will follow suit in penetrating the export market,” said Budi, as quoted from an official statement on Saturday (28 February 2026).

The small enterprise subsequently expanded and was able to produce various types of products, obtaining business legality and halal certification, and has regularly exported to Malaysia since 2022.

Budi stated that the Trade Ministry operates the UMKM Courageous Innovation Ready Adaptation (BISA) Ekspor programme to open international market access for local SMEs.

The government designed this programme to assist SMEs in overcoming the constraints of finding buyers abroad.

The Trade Ministry, according to Budi, actively facilitates SMEs in various business exploration activities and business matching supported by 46 Indonesian trade representatives in 33 countries.

“In 2025, we have facilitated approximately 1,200 SMEs with total transactions reaching US$134.8 million or approximately Rp 2.2 trillion. Some 70 per cent of these are SMEs that had never previously exported,” said Budi.

Through this programme, the government provides guidance to villages with export potential through training, product packaging, and promotion.

“We want SMEs to be strong not only in the domestic market, but also capable of penetrating the global market. Whether large SMEs, medium, small, in cities or in villages, all must have equal opportunity to export,” said Budi.