Firm's monopoly to sell pesticide stickers queried
Firm's monopoly to sell pesticide stickers queried
JAKARTA (JP): Pesticide producers complained last week about the agriculture ministry's ruling that requires them to attach hologram stickers to the containers of their products before they can be sold, saying that it would cause additional costs.
The complaints were raised amid the dispute currently raging between beer brewers and another private monopoly which issues and sells stickers for beer and other alcoholic drinks to be sold in Bali.
The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Pesticide Manufacturers, Mangara S. Sitanggang, said the association was still negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture's Pesticide Commission about the terms and the price of the stickers.
Earlier last week, the association of beer producers also complained about the high alcohol levy collected by a private company, PT Arbamas Multi Invesco.
"We will also discuss whether or not we should change the mechanism of obtaining the stickers," Sitanggang said, as quoted by the Bisnis Indonesia daily on Saturday.
On Thursday, Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said pesticides should bear hologram stickers to be printed by PT Aryo Seto, a private company, before the agrochemical can be sold on the market to protect users from the fraudulent products.
Sjarifudin said users of pesticides, especially farmers, should take extra caution when using the chemicals because they are often highly toxic.
"We must stop the circulation of imitation pesticides which can be very dangerous substances," he said after a hearing with legislators.
Sjarifudin said his office basically supported any effort to curb the circulation of counterfeit products and improve the quality of the pesticides currently on the market.
The ministry issued a decree, dated Nov. 20, 1995, requiring each pesticide container to carry a sticker indicating its authenticity. The decree will be effective as of April 20.
Manufacturers failing to attach the sticker will face administrative penalties and might have their licenses revoked.
To obtain the stickers, manufacturers will have to make a bank payment and then show the receipt to the Ministry of Agriculture's Pesticide Commission.
The stickers will be produced by PT Aryo Seto, the same company which has been licensed by the government as the monopoly in making urea tablets from prilled urea fertilizer.
Mangara said he hoped the government would consider simplifying procedures to allow manufacturers to buy the stickers directly from the commission instead of from the private monopoly.
He considers the current procedure time and money consuming. In the long run, he said, it would affect product prices and become a burden on farmers, who were the main users of pesticides.
Mangara hoped the price wouldn't exceed Rp 100 (4.3 U.S. cents) a sticker.
The association consists of 14 pesticide manufacturers.
If the decree is enforced, an estimated 200 million stickers will be needed every year, generating Rp 20 billion in revenue. Most of the money will go directly to Aryo Seto, the sole producer. (pwn)