HKTI welcomes WTO agreement

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Farmers Union (HKTI) welcomed on Tuesday the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on cutting agricultural subsidies over the next eight years and the acceptance of developing countries' demands to have a number of agricultural products exempted from full-blown liberalization.

HKTI Chairman Prabowo Subianto said the agreement came as a relief for Indonesian farmers as they would not face a flood of imported agricultural products.

"We can't compete with agricultural products from developed countries because their farmers are heavily subsidized," Prabowo said after signing an agreement with State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar to promote environmental awareness among farmers.

"With the WTO pact, we will now be able to protect our agricultural products. We should thank the government, especially Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu for her fight to make other WTO members seal the deal."

HKTI deputy chairman Fadli Zon, who attended the WTO meeting in Hong Kong last week, claimed that most of the ideas agreed upon at the forum were proposed by the Indonesian delegation. -- JP