Eco-labeling boosts, not hinders exports

Eco-labeling boosts, not hinders exports

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian exporters should not see eco-
labeling requirements imposed by most developed countries as
trade barriers but, instead, as a tool to persuade costumers in
those countries to buy Indonesian products, an executive says.

Hans-Dieter Haury, chairman of the German Advisory Assistance
to the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, said yesterday that eco-
labeling is a new trend of costumer preference in developed
countries and in some developing countries as well.

He explained that in accordance with increasing environmental
consciousness across the globe, consumers with growing purchasing
power now demand products which are environmentally friendly.

"If Indonesian businessmen do not follow the trend, their
products will not be accepted well on international markets,"
Haury told journalists before chairing a seminar on eco-labeling
as a new challenge for the Indonesian industries.

Ismeth Abdullah, administrator of the Export Support Board of
the Ministry of Trade, said Indonesian export-oriented companies
should follow the eco-labeling trend rather than oppose it.

"We should consider eco-labeling as a way to improve our
market shares in developed countries rather than as a threat to
our exports," Ismeth said.

Eco-labeling is currently imposed on a wide-range of products,
including textiles, garments, wood products, rubber, leather
goods, food, pulp and paper.

Losses

State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja indicated
that Indonesian textile and garment industries might have already
lost some of their potential export markets due to insufficient
adjustments to the eco-labeling policy of industrial countries.

During the January-July period of this year, the country's
exports of textiles and textile products declined by 8.5 percent
to US$3.3 billion from the same period of last year.
During the same period this year, exports of wood products
declined by 0.38 percent to $3.1 billion.

Earlier this year, Indonesian wood products were reportedly
boycotted by some 400 city administrations in Germany.

Some speculated that the boycotts resulted from pressures by
environmental groups which do not believe in the sustainable
management of Indonesian forests. Chairman of the Association of
Indonesian Wood Panel Producers, Muhammad (Bob) Hasan, argued
that the boycotts were motivated more by commercial objectives
rather than by environmental concerns.

Haury told The Jakarta Post that Germany is a leader among
European countries where environmental issues are concerned. He
predicted that 10 percent of German consumers are very concerned
with environmentally-friendly products.

He said meeting eco-labeling requirements is actually not a
difficult task for Indonesian entrepreneurs. He compared eco-
labeling with halal (lawful) labeling imposed by some Islamic
countries, including Indonesia, which require consumption
products, especially food and beverages, to meet Islamic
standards.

"Products with halal labels will sell better here than those
without the labels. The same thing happens in Europe, consumers
prefer products with eco-labeling to those without them," Haury
said.

He hailed the Indonesian government's initiative to establish
an eco-labeling agency, which is expected to start operating next
year.

Emil Salim, a former state minister of environment and
population, was appointed by the government to lead the eco-
labeling working group for wood-based products, the forerunner of
the eco-labeling agency. (rid)