Customs office clears Bulog's imported sugar to stabilize price
Customs office clears Bulog's imported sugar to stabilize price
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise finally agreed on
Tuesday to clear 36,000 tons of imported sugar from a Jakarta
warehouse as the price of the commodity continued to rise on the
local market.
Customs director general Eddy Abdurrahman said the decision
was made after all administrative requirements for customs
clearance had been met.
"Starting today (Tuesday), Bulog can distribute the (imported)
sugar," Eddy told The Jakarta Post, referring to the state
logistics agency, which holds a mandate to help stabilize the
price of sugar here.
Sugar prices locally had increased from Rp 4,000 per kilogram
to around Rp 6,000 per kg earlier this month, reports said.
Distributors said this was largely due to the lack of supply
as Bulog could not get its imported sugar from the customs
office.
Reports quoting customs officials said the sugar, imported
from Thailand, was sealed by customs because the necessary
documents to clear the imported goods had not been submitted
properly.
The four state-owned plantation companies that imported the
sugar had not been able to complete the documents because they
lacked experience with the import clearance process, the reports
said.
The reports did not say why Bulog, a controversial agency also
responsible for importing and distributing rice, had not been
able to facilitate.
Minister of Industry and Trade Rini M. Soewandi last year
appointed the companies as the only sugar importers in the
country to control imports to help prop up the sagging price of
the commodity as part of efforts to help increase the income of
local sugarcane farmers.
However, because the firms lacked experience in importing
sugar, Bulog was also assigned to assist them in handling the
administrative process, in addition to its price stabilization
mandate.
Rini, on Tuesday, criticized the customs office for holding
the imported sugar, which had increased the price of the
commodity.
"I really don't understand the custom office's reasons for
holding the sugar while the price of the commodity continues to
rise," Rini told reporters as she visited the Dolog Jaya
warehouse where the sugar was sealed.
During the visit, Rini ripped the customs office red seal.
"This is not a proper move, many regions are suffering from a
lack of sugar," Rini said.
During the visit, Rini was accompanied by Bulog chairman
Widjanarko Puspoyo.
Rini urged the agency to distribute the sugar to help
stabilize the price of the commodity.
"We hope the price of sugar will return to the normal price of
about Rp 4,000 per kilogram."
Meanwhile, Bulog said it had distributed about 60,000 million
tons of sugar across the country.
The move, however, still failed to ensure adequate supplies at
domestic markets.
In Cirebon, for example, the price of sugar remains at about
Rp 5,400 per kilogram.
Indonesia is among the world's top sugar importers, importing
about 1.6 million tons in 2001. The country produces a total of
1.7 million tons of sugar, with an annual consumption rate of 3.3
million tons.
Rini has allowed Bulog to import 100,000 tons of sugar this
year.