Bandung, West Java (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Industry is collaborating with local Industry and Trade Offices to strengthen industrial small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) access to Indonesian National Standard (SNI) certification services. Head of the ministry's Agency for Industrial Standardization and Services Policy, Emmy Suryandari, stated that this collaboration is key, as these SMEs naturally maintain a closer relationship with local governments when accessing industrial services. “By nature, these SMEs are closer to the industry offices in their respective regions,” she said in Bandung, West Java, on Monday. She explained that this proximity makes the local offices a vital link, ensuring that the Ministry of Industry's technical implementation units and centers are more accessible to business players on the ground. According to her, this mechanism also aims to ensure that information and SNI services no longer rely on third parties, which could potentially increase financial burdens for the business owners. Suryandari affirmed that the government has readied various incentives to fast-track SNI certification among SMEs, including service discounts of up to 75 percent off standard testing fees. Furthermore, for certain categories such as micro-businesses and newly established entrepreneurs, testing services can be provided at no cost in accordance with applicable regulations. She also highlighted the availability of free assistance for these businesses, ranging from drafting SNI compliance documents and implementing ISO 9001 quality management systems to optimizing production layouts and manufacturing workflows. She emphasized that these various services are widely utilized by businesses in the food, bottled drinking water, and salt sectors, with the bottled water industry being the most dominant. The Ministry of Industry noted that its laboratories and certification bodies have been accredited by the National Accreditation Committee (KAN), covering around 40 commodities and more than 200 product variations. Over the past year, approximately 14,310 test result reports and 1,153 SNI certificates have been issued. In addition to strengthening services, the ministry continues to expand the testing laboratory networks outside of Java by enhancing the capacity of local offices, driving institutional transformation, and strengthening ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.