“Business was brisk! The customers have been coming with no stops since the gates opened. There’s not even time for drinking water!”, said a busy seller, on the afternoon of June 13, at the booth of SSA, an Indonesian agent selling Chinese patent medicine, at the the 53rd Jakarta Fair, held in the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo).

"Since the fair opened on June 9, customers have continued to come to us, many of whom are regular ones," said a person in charge of SSA, whose major goods are donkey hide gelatin products from China’s Shandong Dong-E E-Jiao Co., Ltd.

With a history of more than 50 years, the annual Jakarta Fair is an expo with the longest history, longest exhibition time and most abundant exhibits in Indonesia. It is regarded as both a "barometer" for the Indonesian consumer market and a "touchstone" for foreign goods to enter the Indonesian market.

Due to the pandemic, the Fair was shut down for the last two years. As the pandemic is easing, the fair this year has witnessed a surged consumption.

“This is the 13th time for the products of China’s Shandong Dong-E E-Jiao Co., Ltd. to appear in the Jakarta Fair since its entry into Indonesia”, said Wang Ruquan, the person in charge of the company’s Indonesian market, who admitted that the product performance had went beyond his expectation.

“There are great discounts during the Fair,” said Eliyana, who came all the way from Sumatra to buy 20 boxes of compound donkey hide gelatin. She told the journalist that she bought this Chinese medicine for her family every year since several years ago when her family were successfully cured of dengue fever by doctors who used compound donkey hide gelatin from China.

The person in charge of SSA said that this Chinese patent medicine has been in the Indonesian market for more than 10 years. It is now used as an adjuvant treatment for dengue fever in many Indonesian hospitals and has gained a good reputation among local people. “We offer customers relatively large discounts during the Fair.”, he said. 

Nearly 3,000 companies participated in the 53rd Jakarta Fair, which will last till July 17. The last Jakarta Fair saw nearly 7 million visits made by customers.