HKTI welcomes WTO agreement

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