Govt in the dark on contaminated wheat purchase<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The government vowed that it would try not to allow the import
\nof contaminated Australian wheat, which has been recently
\nrejected by a Pakistani buyer and reportedly sold to Indonesia
\nafter an alleged fungal infection was found.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Agriculture's secretary general Memed Gunawan told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Friday that the ministry had not yet received
\nany information on whether such imports had taken place here.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't received such a report yet, but you can check
\ndirectly with the Agricultural Quarantine Agency. If there is
\nevidence of fungal diseases in the wheat, we will automatically
\nreject it,\" said Memed.<\/p>\n
Lailatul, a staff member at the crop quarantine division of
\nthe Agricultural Quarantine Agency, said that his office would
\nimmediately inspect imported wheat if there was suspicion it had
\nbeen contaminated.<\/p>\n
A recent report by AFP said that Indonesian buyers were among
\nthose planning to buy Australian wheat that has been rejected by
\nTradesman International, a Pakistani company, after locally
\nadministered tests detected Karnal bunt disease, which is harmful
\nto humans.<\/p>\n
Other countries that decided to import the wheat shipment,
\nwhich is valued at around US$23 million, are Sri Lanka and the
\nUnited Arab Emirates. Australian tests have cleared the wheat of
\nthe alleged fungal infection.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, chief commercial officer of flour producer PT
\nBogasari Flour Mills, Philip S. Purnama, told the Post that the
\nPakistani firm had indeed offered the wheat to Bogasari and other
\nlocal companies that are part of the Indonesian Flour Producers
\nAssociation (Aptindo).<\/p>\n
But none of the local companies decided to accept the offer,
\nbecause of the disease, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have been offered the wheat, but we have never accepted
\nit. Bogasari has never bought wheat from a Pakistani trader... We
\ndirectly import wheat from Australia, transported by our own
\nvessels,\" said Philip.<\/p>\n
He explained that Bogasari had received a guarantee letter
\nfrom the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) on March 12, stating that
\nKarnal bunt had never been detected in Australia.<\/p>\n
The company, which is a unit of the world's largest instant
\nnoodle producer PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, is one of the
\ncountry's largest wheat importers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-in-the-dark-on-contaminated-wheat-purchase-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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