RI turns down proposal for lower import tariff on sugar<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will maintain the current high import tariff on
\nsugar to protect local farmers despite a proposal from Thailand
\nfor a lower tariff, according to a senior official at the
\nMinistry of Trade and Industry.<\/p>\n
\"We will keep the import tariff on sugar at between 20 and 25
\npercent,\" Budi Darmadi, director of regional cooperation at the
\nministry told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Thailand's Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik earlier sent a
\nletter to his counterparts in Indonesia and the Philippines
\nproposing a lower import tariff on sugar from ASEAN (Association
\nof South East Asian Nations) countries than on sugar from non-
\nASEAN countries.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the region's largest sugar importer, currently
\napplies a 20 percent import tariff on white sugar and a 25
\npercent tariff on raw sugar.<\/p>\n
\"That (import tariff) is a compromise level between the local
\nproducers (farmers) and consumers (industries),\" Budi said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are among the six
\noriginal members of the 10-nation ASEAN grouping that have
\nimplemented the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The other three
\nfounding members are Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.<\/p>\n
Under AFTA, which came into effect on Jan.1, 2002, import
\ntariffs on almost all goods traded among the six founding members
\nhave been cut to between zero and five percent.<\/p>\n
The original AFTA agreement stipulated that both Indonesia and
\nthe Philippines should have reduced their import tariffs on sugar
\nby 2002.<\/p>\n
But local farmers and the House of Representatives have
\nopposed the plan and called on the government to maintain the
\nhigh import tariffs to protect farmers here from imported sugar.<\/p>\n
\"We have fought very hard to transfer sugar products from the
\ninclusion list to the highly sensitive list, and we will keep
\nfighting for the (high) tariff,\" Budi said.<\/p>\n
During a ministerial meeting in Nov. 2001 in Hanoi, the AFTA
\nCouncil granted both the Philippines and Indonesia permission to
\nmaintain their high import tariffs on sugar for several years
\nbefore gradually reducing them to a maximum of five percent in
\n2010.<\/p>\n
The AFTA Council permitted Indonesia to include sugar on its
\nhighly sensitive list, meaning it will start lowering the tariff
\nin 2005, with the final rate not allowed to exceed 5 percent.<\/p>\n
Indonesia produces approximately 1.5 million tons of sugar
\nannually, while domestic consumption stands at around 3 million
\ntons a year.<\/p>\n
Indonesia imported around 2.1 million tons of sugar in 1999
\nand 1.2 million tons in 2000.<\/p>\n
Around 761,000 tons of the sugar imported in 2001 came from
\nThailand.<\/p>\n
Thailand is Asia's largest sugar producer.<\/p>\n
Budi said that the sugar tariff issue would be further
\ndiscussed at the upcoming ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting
\n(SEOM) next month.<\/p>\n
Budi said that the SEOM meting would take place in the royal
\ncity of Yogyakarta from March 22 - 24.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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