Fruit association dismisses worries about imports

Fruit association dismisses worries about imports

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Fruit Association (HPI) has given
assurances that fruit importation has not reached a level that
could damage Indonesia's domestic fruit production and marketing,
despite recent media reports suggesting the contrary.

HPI Chairman Goeswono Soepardi said on Saturday that although
fruit imports have significantly increased in the last five years
-- by 1,168 percent in volume and 936 percent in value for
oranges and mandarins -- the figures are insignificant compared
to Indonesia's production and consumption levels.

"The increase during the 1991-95 period may seem hefty but in
terms of volume total fruit imports reached only 112,787 tons
last year," Goeswono said in a speech to commemorate HPI's second
anniversary.

By comparison, 5.8 million tons of fruit is produced
domestically and consumption reaches about 6.3 million tons each
year, Goeswono said in the speech, which was read by HPI
treasurer Bernard Sadhani.

HPI, established on Oct. 22, 1994, brings together farmers,
gardeners, businessmen, academics, practitioners and observers of
fruit-related issues.

Indonesia currently imports apples, oranges (which includes
mandarins), pears, grapes, dates, longans, lychees and durian.

Of these eight fruits, only imports of apples and oranges have
significantly increased in terms of volume and value, Goeswono
said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said total fruit imports
increased sixfold during the last five years, from US$15.7
million in 1991 to $89.8 million last year, with an average
growth of 50.8 percent a year.

Goeswono acknowledged that despite the rising import levels,
the domestic fruit industry continues to develop at its own pace.

Several large national firms have lately expressed interest in
the industry and are planning to open thousands of hectares of
fruit estates, he said.

"This is because businesspeople want to increase the
proportion of good-quality, exportable fruit, which currently
accounts for only 20 percent of farmers' production," he said.

In recent months, the media have reported claims from
government officials, academics and other observers that the
increasing influx of imported fruits is threatening domestic
producers.

Goeswono said that President Soeharto has also ordered the
restriction of imports and establishment of a regulation to
ensure their quality and safety. The regulation is currently
being formulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of
Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade.

HPI secretary-general F. Rahardi said that rather than worry
about whether imports threaten domestic producers, Indonesia
should be more concerned about the foreign exchange which flows
out of Indonesia to pay for imported fruit and the affect on the
nation's current account balance.

"In the short term, we are not facing any threats. But this
does not mean that the domestic fruit industry requires no
reform," Rahardi told reporters.

The need for reform has become more urgent since a number of
foreign investors recently expressed their intentions to
establish fruit farms and industries in Indonesia, he said.

Rahardi said he believed the government's planned regulation
on fruit imports is long overdue.

He said that much of the fruit imported by Indonesia is too
old, of low quality or contains pesticide residues.

A 1994 study by the Trubus magazine and the PT Sucofindo
surveyor company discovered 11 types of pesticides on imported
apples, oranges and grapes, he said.

"All of these conditions result in low prices. So it's not
correct to say that the low prices are due to greater efficiency
in cultivation," Rahardi said.

Goeswono said the problems currently faced by the fruit
industry include inferior mother-stocks which produce poor-
quality fruit, inappropriate cultivation methods, red tape, lack
of support facilities and high interest rates.

"The problem of high interest rates is completely the opposite
to that in Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand," he
said.

Interest rates in those countries are less than 6 percent a
year, while in Indonesia they range from 20 to 24 percent.

"It is no wonder, therefore, that more than 80 percent of the
credits allocated for horticultural projects are idle," he said.
(pwn)