Minister wants to raise import duty on shrimp<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri has
\nrequested the imposition of a 40 percent import tariff on shrimp
\nfollowing widespread imports of popular seafood, because domestic
\nshrimp farmers cannot compete with the lower-priced imports.<\/p>\n
\"If the Ministry of Industry and Trade cannot ban imports of
\nshrimp, then they should just apply a 40 percent import duty,\"
\nRokhmin said, after presenting the ministry's plans to develop
\nthe marine and fisheries sector to the Indonesian Chamber of
\nCommerce and Industry on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said that the massive import, which started late last year,
\nhad endangered the livelihood of domestic shrimpers, who
\npotentially could sell a million tons of shrimp per year locally
\nif the price was right.<\/p>\n
\"Our shrimp farmer's potential is 30 times greater than
\nThailand's. It will become very dangerous if these imports
\ncontinue,\" Rokhmin was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
He added that it would be odd if the Ministry of Industry and
\nTrade turned down the request given the huge potential here.<\/p>\n
Rokhmin said that his ministry had sent the request about the
\nimport duty proposal to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in
\nJanuary and plans to send a similar proposal to the Ministry of
\nFinance.<\/p>\n
Deputy of the Indonesian Fisheries Industry Association
\n(Gappindo) Johanes Kitono agreed that Indonesia did not need to
\nimport shrimp since local production could meet the domestic
\ndemand and eventually be able to export the product.<\/p>\n
So far this year, he said, the country's production of shrimp
\nhad reached 260,000 tons with 30,000 tons being exported.<\/p>\n
\"But the rampant import of shrimp has created problems for
\ndomestic farmers since imports are now dominating the (local)
\nmarket,\" said Johanes.<\/p>\n
Imports of shrimp are mainly from countries affected by the
\nUnited States' anti-dumping policy, which effectively bans it
\nfrom the U.S. market.<\/p>\n
Those countries include China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and
\nIndia.<\/p>\n
Johanes expressed his concern that the imported shrimp would
\nbecome a kind of \"shrimp laundering\" where the imported shrimp
\nwould be remarketed to the U.S. market since Indonesia was not
\naffected by the anti-dumping policy.<\/p>\n
He explained that Gappindo would prefer a ban on imports of
\nshrimp because the imposition of a 40 percent import duty would
\nlikely not stop the imports as long as the U.S. maintained the
\nhigh import duty for those exporting countries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-wants-to-raise-import-duty-on-shrimp-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}