Head of Barantin Focuses on Strengthening Oversight and Safeguarding Trade Flows

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin), Abdul Kadir Karding, has stated his readiness to carry out the new mandate from President Prabowo Subianto by focusing on strengthening national quarantine oversight while ensuring the smooth flow of trade. Karding explained that the Indonesian Quarantine Agency is a new institution established to ensure that diseases or disease-carrying organisms in animals and plants, particularly those originating from abroad, do not enter Indonesian territory. “This Quarantine Agency is a new institution expected to be built to ensure that diseases carried or present in animals or plants, especially those entering Indonesia from abroad, do not enter Indonesia,” said Karding after the inauguration at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. He stressed that quarantine oversight will be tightened, yet it must maintain a balance between protection and the smooth operation of national economic activities. According to him, tightening oversight must not hinder export and import processes, which could slow down trade movements and impact the economy. “We must implement strict oversight and tightening measures, but the key point is that it must not disrupt the ongoing export-import processes. So, the oversight should not be so strict that it slows down exports and imports, affecting our economy,” he clarified. Karding will also conduct intensive coordination with several ministries and agencies to strengthen the national quarantine system. This coordination involves the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services, as well as Customs. In addition to implementing new programmes, Karding will continue various policies and steps built by the previous agency head, while making improvements in aspects that still need enhancement. President Prabowo Subianto has just inaugurated Abdul Kadir Karding as the Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency through Presidential Decree Number 50 PPA of 2026 on the Appointment of a Senior High Official in the Indonesian Quarantine Agency Environment at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday.