Today the horticulture
industry was made busy with polemics over the policy of import prohibition of
horticulture products by issuing Regulation of the Ministry of Trade. As known
the Government restricted import of horticulture products by issuing Regulation
of the Ministry of Trade (Permendag) no 30 2012 on the stipulation of import of
Horticulture.
The Regulation contained rules and obligations to be
fulfilled by importers to protect the domestic market and consumers. According
to the new policy, import of horticulture products could only be done by
companies which were acknlowledged as registered producer-importer of
horticulture products by the Directorate General of Overseas Trading on behalf
of the Ministry if Trade.
So import of horticulture products was only permissible
in a situation where domestic horticulture products were unable of fulfill
public demand. That was the essence of publicized import regulation released by
the Ministry of Trade recently.
According to record of the Ministry of Trade, import of
horticulture products had been constantly increasing since 2006. In 2006 total
of imported horticulture products was posted at USD 600 million, then in 2007
rose to 787.86 million, in 2008 increased to USD 881,62 million, in 2009
increased to USD 1.054 billion and in 2010 increased to USD 1.254 billion and
in 2011 reached USD 1.757 billion.
Horticulture products mostly imported through
January-December 2011 were garlics worth USD 242,42 million, apple USD 153,87
million, lemon USD 150.25 million, lengkeng USD 96.96 million, pear USD 92.6
million, red onions USD 75.47 million, durian USD 74.87 million, fresh potatoes
USD 47,26 million, other USD 724.39 million.
Imported fruits were identified as originating from
China, Thailand, the USA, Chilli and Australia. Meanwhile imported vegetables
were mostly from China, Thailand, Myanmar, India and Vietnam. The main import
harbors were Tanjung Priok, Tanjung Perak, Belawan, Dumai, Tanjung Emas, Batu
Ampar, and Ujung Pandang.
The Permendag Regulation no. 12/2010 on Horticulture
obliged importers to observe the food safety aspect, availability of products
at home, targeting of consumption of horticulture products. Importers must also
obey rules on packaging and labeling, quality standardization and stipulations
on safety and protection of human’s health and health of animals, plantation
and conservation of the environment. Labeling of imported products must be in
Indonesian language.
It was mandatory for import of horticulture products to
have import permit from the Ministry of Trade by recommendation of the Ministry
of Agriculture while technical check up on imported product at the loading port
was necessary.
The Ministry of Trade would also control import and
distribution of horticulture products including examination of packaging and
labeling. The Ministry of Trade could set up an integrated team consisting of
related parties.
To look into the matter cool headedly, in fact the
regulation was based on good intention. Firstly to reform import mechanism of
products of horticulture products whereby to enable small business to be
involved un the effort instead of just involving big players of prevalent big
scale industry.
Secondly, to protect health, security and safety of
consumers. Naturally quantantine was needed over a certain period of time in
order to makes sure whether some imported horticulture products had met the
basic requirements in terms of hygiene, safety and greenness (K3L). If the
products could meet the requirements they could be marketed in Indonesia. If
they failed to meet the requirements they could be deported to the country of
origin.
Thirdly, to ensure better welfare for local farmers by
allowing local consumers to consume their products. For the sake of national
interest, it was advisable for the Government to make a special regulation to
protect the consumers and horticulture growers as long as they were in line
with international agreements.
Fourthly to motivate farmers to perform in the
agricultural sector and keep them from changing profession to become traders.
The only thing was, to empower local farmers, the Government’s support as
regulator and facilitator was needed whereby to give farmers access to banks.
Indonesia being an agricultural country, it was only reasonable that the
agricultural center including horticulture as sub sector deserved greater
attention because it was one of the premium sectors which was labor intensive.
The Government must increase farmers’ willingness to step
up and maintain quality of horticulture whereby they could compete against
imported products. By promoting awareness product quality in terms of hygiene,
safety and greenness, this triple requirement must be fulfilled. One thing to
be underlined in this case was that the Government’s regulation were not an act
of protectionism but rather a measure to secure national interest.
Business News - July 18, 2012
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