West Sumatra yet to permit external retailers to operate to protect local SMEs

Padang (ANTARA) - The West Sumatra provincial government has emphasised that the policy not yet granting permission for retail businesses from outside the region to enter or develop their operations in the area is intended to protect local micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM). “There is no official regulation; it’s more like an agreement to protect local UMKM,” said the Head of the Provincial Cooperative, Small and Medium Enterprises Office of West Sumatra, Endrizal, in Padang on Friday. Endrizal stated that the agreement is solely to ensure that existing business actors or UMKM in the Minang Land continue to grow and impact the regional economy. This step also refers to West Sumatra Provincial Regulation No. 16 of 2019 on the Empowerment and Protection of Cooperatives and Small Businesses. “This is to protect our UMKM so they can survive, and the economy can move at the local level,” he said. Raju stated that the measure also reinforces the efforts and plans of the Padang City Government for local UMKM to level up and have competitiveness in a wider market. In the future, every local retail business in Padang will prepare a corner for brands or products from local UMKM. At the same time, local UMKM must continue to improve quality to be competitive. “Entrepreneurs request that UMKM products have halal certificates and BPOM (Food and Drug Supervisory Agency), because every retailer has standards so that products are safe and can sell out,” he said.