Crowded #ShopeeB KillUMKM, This is the Response of the UMKM Association

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – How many days ago social media Twitter was enlivened by the hashtag #ShopeeB KillUMKM.

This tagar starts to crowd, starting from the conversation of a number of Twitter users who discuss about the seller or seller at Shopee named Mr. Hu.

Several netizens share photos of shipping details from China on Shopee showing that Mr. Hu is always listed as the sender.

In response to that, the General Chair of the Association UMKM Indonesia (Akumindo) Ikhsan Ingratubun said, indeed, sales of foreign products at e-commerce killing SMEs.

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“Yes, it is killing, it is indeed threatened by our MSMEs,” he said when contacted by Kompas.com, Friday (19/2/2021).

However, Ikhsan argues that the actions taken by Mr. Hu or anyone who sells imported products in the country is not wrong. Because, according to him, Indonesia itself has signed a trade agreement such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).

Therefore, he stressed, the government must be careful in signing trade agreements or those involving import activities.

“Why? Because technology is always developing. Business is always expanding. That’s why no one can get in the way, the government needs to be careful in signing things like that,” he said.

In addition, Ikhsan also said that Indonesian MSMEs could not compete with imported products from outside. Both in terms of quality, availability of goods and prices are also still obstacles. “Because of this, our UMKM still cannot finish, that’s why we can lose to Mr. Hu,” he said.

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Ikhsan also suggested that the government should make a special application to sell UMKM products. The application, he said, should not be mixed up with other existing e-commerce applications or platforms.

“Likewise with the budget allocation for state expenditure from MSME products which is disbursed in a number of trillions, it must also be ascertained which products are purchased. For example for the Agro sector, it is clear that what you want to buy is a chopping machine or other, it must be clear,” he said. he.

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