After sugar debacle comes substandard flour imports

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The 162 containers of allegedly smuggled sugar destroyed on Thursday may be just the tip of the iceberg for the country's commodity trade sector, as the Indonesian Wheat and Flour Association (Aptindo) complained on Friday that smuggled flour was flooding the domestic market.

The executive director of Aptindo, Ratna Sari Loppies, said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade had discovered a large amount of substandard and unregistered flour being sold on the domestic market in March.

Several brands of flour, such as Kereta and Lotus, which had no registration labels from the ministry, were found in Palembang, South Sumatra, Padang, West Sumatra, Jambi and Dumai, Riau. Other flour brands, including Korek Api, Anggur, Padi, and Daun, which also carried no label, were found in Batam, Riau.

The allegedly smuggled flour, sold freely in markets nationwide, did not meet the Indonesian National Standard (SNI).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade had instructed its provincial offices to withdraw the flour from the market, said Ratna.

Ratna added that at least 189,000 tonnes of flour that was being marketed in Indonesia from January to October last year was unlicensed.

According to Ministerial Decree No. 753/MPP/Kep/11/2002 on standardization and national standard control, imported flour has to be licensed by the Directorate General of International Trade at the industry and trade ministry before it can be distributed on the Indonesian market.

The reason for the flour smuggling was weak government control and law enforcement, Ratna added.

Quoting data from the ministry, she said that during that period, only 99,000 tonnes of flour were registered at the ministry while, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), around 288 tonnes were imported to the country from January to October last year.

Apart from that, approximately 1,600 metric tons, or 72 containers, of smuggled flour were confiscated by the Jakarta customs office in November 2003. The government had promised to destroy all of the smuggled flour but no action has been taken so far.

Most of the substandard flour comes from India and the United Arab Emirates. Flour from India is sold at US$208 per tonne while that from the United Arab Emirates is sold at $230 per tonne.

Indonesia has to import flour because no wheat, the raw material to produce flour, can grow in the country. Most of the flour imported is used to make instant noodles and bread. The total domestic consumption of flour reached 3,179 metric tons in 2003.

As the substandard flour could harm consumers, Ratna called on the government to be tough on the smugglers while she urged the government to destroy all of the smuggled flour that had been confiscated.