HKTI says 80% import tariff on chicken legs not sufficient

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Farmer's Association (HKTI) said on Wednesday that plans by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to impose an 80 percent tariff on the import of chicken leg quarters would not be effective in protecting the local poultry industry against cheaper imports.

HKTI chairman Siswono Yudhohusodo urged the government to impose a 120 percent import tariff.

"I have proposed this to the director of bilateral relations at the trade and industry ministry," Siswono told The Jakarta Post.

Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi has proposed an increase in the import tariff on chicken legs to 80 percent from the current 5 percent in a bid to protect the local poultry industry.

The import of chicken legs has become a controversial issue following the government plan to revoke a ruling on the ban of chicken leg imports from the U.S., the world's largest exporter of cheap chicken leg quarters.

Rini has argued that the ban is against the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling.

Siswono said that imposing an 80 percent import tariff was not sufficient to protect the local chicken farmers because the price of imported chicken legs was only Rp 4,300 per kilogram compared to the price of the local product at Rp 9,500 per kg.

Rini's plan to raise the import tariff to 80 percent is already beyond the WTO tariff limit of 40 percent.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) shows that local poultry farmers had seen chicken imports growing sharply, from only 347 tons in 1998 to 14,017 tons in 2000.

Siswono added that the government needed to use the halal requirement on the imports of chicken leg quarters from the U.S.

"We expect the Ministry of Agriculture to launch an overall review on the import of chicken leg quarters to guarantee the halal requirement," Siswono said.

According to this requirement, chickens must be slaughtered in accordance with Islamic procedures.