Govt plans to curb fruit import

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Agriculture is drafting a policy that would restrict the importation of several fruit varieties in a bid to protect local farmers, but the move may trigger reciprocal measures by affected countries and eventually harm Indonesian exports.

The ministry's Horticulture Production Director General Sumarno said on Thursday that the policy was also aimed at preventing the spread of fruit flies in the country.

"We are now drafting a regulation on import restrictions in the form of ministerial decree. It is expected to be signed (by the minister) soon," Sumarno was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said under the planned decree, the ministry wanted to limit the importation of 28 fruits, including avocados, star fruits, bananas, durians, oranges and mangoes.

He said the importation of the fruits would be restricted during harvesttime to protect local fruit farmers, who have suffered from the influx of higher quality and relatively cheaper imported fruits.

Sumarno said the ministry had long proposed an increase of import duties on fruits to 50 percent, from the current 5 percent, as an effort to protect local farmers. "But the proposal has not been approved."

A special team of officials from relevant ministries possess the authority to decide on the tariff policy for imported fruits.

Sumarno said the planned restriction policy would also regulate sanitation and hygiene for imported fruits.

"This requirement is important, so Indonesia will not turn into a dumping place for rejected fruit products," he said.

He added that the planned policy would also ban fruit imports from 100 countries to prevent the entry of fruit flies. He did not elaborate.

Sumarno said at least 30 fruit fly species existed that could harm the country's fruit plantations.

Farmers have long complained about the massive importation of imported fruits, particularly from the U.S., China, Thailand and Australia.

Reports have said that farmers in East Java's Batu Malang, for example, had gradually closed their apple plantation, as they had lost the battle against apples from overseas. The apple production in the area has dropped to 1.25 tons per hectare (ha), from the previous 5 tons per ha, as farmers shifted to other horticultural products.

The volume of imported fruits surged after the government cut the import tariff for fruits during the late 1990s to around 5 percent, in keeping with the global liberalization drive, and opened up the service sector, allowing giant foreign hypermarket operators set up shop here.

According to the ministry's data, the volume of imported fruits jumped from 72,660 tons in 1994 to 247,366 tons in 2002, and the figure continues to rise.

Indonesia is seen as a lucrative market among fruit exporter countries.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for instance, issued a report earlier this year saying that despite the crisis, Indonesia's demand for imported fruits had continued to increase, thus making it an important market. The report also said China has been aggressive in exporting fruits to Indonesia.

The planned import restriction policy, which basically imposes non-tariff barriers, could prompt fruit exporting countries such as the U.S. and China to retaliate in like manner. The two countries are key markets for Indonesia's non-oil and gas export products, and could thus pose a serious threat to the government's efforts to boost exports.