Indonesia, Oct. 8 -- The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) claimed the drug and food industry could contribute around Rp10,000 trillion to the national economy each year, given the large number of businesses in the sector.

BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar, at a public lecture at the University of Mataram here on Thursday, explained that there are 45,000 large pharmaceutical and food companies in Indonesia, along with 4.2 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

"Some have revenue in the hundreds of millions per year, some have profits in the hundreds of billions, and some even in the trillions to hundreds of trillions," he said.

He said that if all 4.3 million business players are combined, the Rp10,000 trillion figure is ce...