Export agency slams Australian imports ruling

Export agency slams Australian imports ruling

JAKARTA (JP): A government-sponsored export promotion body
slammed the Australian government on Tuesday for imposing a
strict importation ruling, which it claimed curbed Indonesian and
other neighboring countries' exports of food, beverages and
shrimp products to the country.

The National Agency for Export Development (BPEN) of the
Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement that Indonesia
as well as neighboring countries grouped in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had voiced complaints over the
new ruling.

The agency said that under the importation policy, the
Australian government had imposed restrictions on the import of
shrimp products from ASEAN countries, particularly Indonesia, on
charges that they contained the "white spot" virus.

Ambassadors from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Myanmar in Canberra lodged a formal protest
against the Australian ministry of forestry and agriculture,
urging the Australian government to lift its restrictions as
there had not yet been any scientific proof that the virus
originated in Southeast Asia, the agency said.

The agency also said 13 different products from Indonesia had
been put on hold by the Australian government and sent back in
May of this year because the products did not have their
ingredients listed in English.

The products included shrimp crackers, black tea, condensed
milk, soft drinks, biscuits, noodles, chocolate wafers, tea bags,
crackers, dehydrated seaweed, vanilla oil, peanut flour and
powdered milk.

The government, along with the private sector, has established
a special team to ensure that other products will not be sent
back in the future, BPEN said.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service has imposed
strict restrictions on all imported food and beverages to ensure
that every product entering the country meets its standards of
health and labeling.

The Australian government agency also requires that all
imported food and beverages' packaging lists the product's
chemical ingredients, and that products are packed according to
government standards.

Trade with Australia increased by 12.98 percent between
January and March of this year to US$750 million, compared to the
same period last year.

However, Indonesian exports suffered a deficit of $10 million
during that period, with exports from here valued at $370 million
while Australian imports totaled $380 million.

Oil and gas exports to Australia during the first three months
of the year totaled $181 million, or an increase of 99.35 percent
from the same period last year.

Non-oil exports suffered a 24 percent decline compared to last
year, totaling $189 million.

Out of the 41 types of non-oil and gas products whose exports
are monitored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, some 14
experienced an increase in export to Australia while 27 suffered
a decline.

The products which experienced an export increase include
telecommunications products, chemical products, electrical
equipment and raw and synthetic rubber.

Products which suffered a decline in exports include
nonmonetary gold, cardboard and paper products, wood products,
mineral products, organic chemical products, thread, textiles,
chocolate and spices, BPEN said. (tnt)