Importers oppose plan to stack imported goods
Importers oppose plan to stack imported goods
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Importers Association opposes the
Minister of Transportation's plan to eliminate ship-side trucking
of imported goods, arguing it will slow the flow of imports.
The association's chairman, Amirudin Saud, said yesterday the
plan would add to importers' costs.
"The minister does not seems to understand what's going on at
Tanjung Priok port (in Jakarta). Why does he plan to eliminate
ship-side trucking which has helped ensure smoother flows of
goods?" Amirudin asked.
Ship-side trucking of imported goods is the unloading of goods
from ships to trucks, which take the goods directly to importers'
warehouses.
So far the government has allowed ship-side trucking of
certain imported goods, especially raw materials for further
processing and basic needs like rice, sugar and soybean.
Last week Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said
he would gradually eliminate ship-side trucking and require the
imported goods to be temporarily stacked at terminal warehouses
or container yards before being cleared through customs.
Haryanto said this would increase the utilization rate of
warehouses at Tanjung Priok port from its current level of
between only 30 percent and 40 percent.
"What's more important is how we make our ports competitive.
The next step would be to eliminate gradually ship-side
trucking)," Haryanto said.
He said ship-side trucking sometimes took a long time when
trucks were unavailable because of traffic jams.
Amirudin said Minister Haryanto's reasons to eliminate ship-
side trucking were fabricated.
He said the port should serve as a transit point for exports
and imports and help expedite flows of exports and imports.
The Tanjung Priok port authority should not maximize its
revenue from its warehousing business by holding up imports or
exports, Amirudin said.
He said trucks being unavailable during stevedoring was rare.
"Even though it happens, it's easy to handle. Please, don't
eliminate ship-side trucking because of such rare cases,"
Amirudin said.
"Anyway, eliminating ship-side trucking is not the authority
of the transportation minister but the finance minister. He
(Haryanto) should have known this," he said.
He said requiring importers to stack their imported goods at
warehouses or in container yards would add to importers' costs.
The additional costs include mechanical costs of between Rp
5,000 to Rp 7,500 an hour, forklift-usage costs of Rp 5,500 a ton
and stacking or warehousing costs of between Rp 90 to Rp 250 a
ton or cubic meter a day.
"That does not include possible weight or volume reduction of
goods, damage caused by handling and the costs of clearing the
goods from the warehouses," Amirudin said.
He said eliminating ship-side trucking would disturb
production processes at factories if the raw materials were still
in port warehouses.
Last year 71 percent of Indonesia's imports were raw
materials, 22 percent capital goods and 7 percent consumer goods.
(rid)