APTINDO calls for standard wheat flour

APTINDO calls for standard wheat flour

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Flour Producers (APTINDO) called on the government on Tuesday to introduce an industrial standard for the production of wheat flour in the country.

The association's chairman Franciscus Welirang said that the government should apply the National Industrial Standard (SNI) to local flour production in a bid to protect consumers from low quality products.

"The application of the industrial standard is also essential to protect local producers from an influx of cheap, imported flour from overseas," Fransiscus said at a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission V for industry and trade.

During the hearing, the association's members complained that the government's decision in 1998 to remove the import duty on wheat flour had severely hurt their businesses.

With zero import duty, local wheat producers faced difficulties in competing with imported wheat, he said.

The government should reimpose the import duty to curb the inflow of foreign products, he said, adding that the import duty on flour should be set at at least the same level as that provided for in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) trade agreement.

Under the AFTA agreement, which will be implemented in 2003, the common tariff on flour imports among ASEAN countries is set at 5 percent.

Flour imports significantly increased to 367,000 tons in 1999 from 57,000 tons in 1998 as a result of the removal of the import duty, according to the association. (03)