Government to destroy 16 containers of smuggled sugar
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the National Police have agreed to destroy 16 of 179 containers of smuggled sugar confiscated by the customs office in Jakarta last month.
The sugar was smuggled in from Port Klang in Malaysia to Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra, before being shipped to Tanjung Priok, Jakarta.
Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi disclosed on Monday that the police had agreed to destroy the contents of 16 containers -- around 352 tons of sugar -- which lacked ownership details.
"We remain firm that all illegal sugar has to be destroyed. According to the police investigation, some of the confiscated sugar is owned, but nobody has claimed it yet, while some has no ownership details. The police have confirmed that any unclaimed sugar will be destroyed soon," said Rini.
She added that already two businessmen from North Sumatra had admitted some of the sugar was theirs and the police had been investigating this.
Rini said that documentation for the 179 containers stated that the commodity should not be moved from North Sumatra to other provinces.
The minister has reportedly insisted on destroying the 179 containers of sugar, confiscated at the end of March, so as not to put the price of local sugar under further pressure due to oversupply.
According to Ministerial Decree No. 6/2004, the shipment of commodities within the country is not forbidden. But as sugar is among those commodities covered by specific regulations on importation, its shipment must follow certain procedures.
Meanwhile, National Police spokesman, Brig. Gen. Soenarko could not confirm whether they would destroy the sugar soon, but said that the police had identified several men allegedly behind the smuggling.
"We are still trying to locate several others. It is possible that we might destroy some of the sugar soon, but will wait until we nab all of the smugglers before destroying the remainder of it," Soenarko told The Jakarta Post.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a ruling limiting the importation of sugar last September. Only manufacturing firms that take 75 percent of their raw material from local farmers are allowed to import raw, refined or white sugar. The move is expected to help bolster the price of sugar in the local market.
The firms allowed to import sugar include state plantations PT Perkebunan Nusantara IX, X, XI and RNI. They are tasked to fill the huge gap between domestic supply and demand.
Indonesia produced only 1.8 million tons of sugar in 2002, while demand reached 3.2 million tons.
The government, however, has failed to stop the rampant smuggling of cheaper sugar from overseas into the country, which has flooded the local market and hurt sugarcane farmers.
Apart from the current case, it has been reported that around 24,000 tons annually of illegal sugar enters the country via West Kalimantan. In December last year, 1,600 tons of sugar were smuggled to East Java while around 900 tons were discovered in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, this month.