Ban on Chinese soybean, corn ended<\/p>\n
The government has decided to lift a ban on corn and soybean
\nimports from China, a senior official at the Ministry of
\nAgriculture said.<\/p>\n
\"We will lift the ban on Chinese corn and soybeans today,\"
\nBudi Tri Akoso, director of animal health at the ministry told
\nreporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The government imposed a ban on Chinese corn and soybeans on
\nMarch 18 due to the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in
\nHong Kong, which is part of China.<\/p>\n
Budi said according to the World Organization for Animal
\nHealth, there is no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the
\nworld currently.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong is categorized as an endemic country, where
\nfoot-and-mouth has intermittently occurred over the past several
\nyears, which is different from an outbreak, he said.<\/p>\n
The most recent case in Hong Kong occurred Feb. 28 and it has
\nbeen more than 30 days since then, he said.<\/p>\n
He said as a precaution, shipments of Chinese corn or soybeans
\nleaving China during the Feb. 28-March 28 period won't be allowed
\nto land in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia imported 1.3 million metric tons of corn from China
\nin 2002.<\/p>\n
Budi said the Ministry of Agriculture will evaluate the
\nsituation in Hong Kong every two weeks.<\/p>\n
Trade participants protested against Indonesia's decision to
\nimpose the ban, questioning the validity behind the ban.<\/p>\n
The foot-and-mouth disease, a highly infectious virus in
\ncloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs and goats,
\nrarely kills animals but can cause huge production losses.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ban-on-chinese-soybean-corn-ended-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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