Customs to check illegal rice imports

Customs to check illegal rice imports

JAKARTA (JP): The customs and excise office will investigate
reports of illegal rice imports in a bid to protect local
farmers.

The director general of customs and excise of the Ministry of
Finance, Permana Agung, said on Monday that his office would soon
verify all documents on rice brought into Indonesia since Jan. 1
to find out if there was any manipulation of import activities.

"It is possible that some mischievous importers have
manipulated the documents. If convicted, they will face five
years imprisonment and/or Rp 500 million (US$71,428) in fines,"
he was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said official data from the customs office showed
approximately 5,550 tons of rice were imported by private
importers since Jan. 1.

No irregularities, had been, were found so far with the rice
importation, he said.

The government will raise import duties on rice from 10
percent to 30 percent beginning April, this year, following a
strong lobbying from farmers who said they would not be able to
compete with imported rice at the current duty rate.

The farmer association's chairman, Siswono Yudhohusodo, said
recently that many traders took advantage of the planned duty
increase by importing more rice. When the new duty takes effect,
traders will receive higher profits but local rice producers will
lose out.

Siswono said many traders had smuggled rice into the country,
resulting in the influx of imported rice on the market.

"Illegal rice imports are beyond control, partly due to the
lack of control and law enforcement by customs officials in
charge of monitoring the flux of rice imports through major ports
across the country," he said.

He said the sale of illegally imported rice had severely
affected farmers because the rice, which generally is better
quality, was sold at a cheaper price.

Imported rice of medium quality sold at about Rp 1,800 per
kilogram last week, while local rice of the same quality sold at
about Rp 2,400 per kilogram.

Siswono, however, did not provide further details on the
alleged illegal import.

Permana said he had sent a letter to Siswono asking for a
complete report and data from the association to be used in the
verification and investigation. (cst)