Japanese official to meet Bungaran

Japanese official to meet Bungaran

JAKARTA : Chairman of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party's Farm Committee Soichi Nakagawa is expected to arrive here on May 25 to discuss world agriculture issues with Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih and other related officials, according to an official.

Sutrisno Iwantono, head of the Agriculture Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance Asia Pacific, a non- governmental organization, said that one of the agenda items for the meeting would be to discuss the position of Japan and Indonesian at the upcoming World Trade Organization talks.

The WTO meeting will be held in September in Cancun, Mexico, and will discuss global trade liberalization, including in the agriculture sector.

Both Indonesia and Japan have rejected a U.S.-led demand to slash import tariffs on agricultural commodities such as rice.

Japan, however, has also turned down a demand from developing countries to eliminate subsidies in the agriculture sector. -- JP

;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. MoneyMatter-NZ-fart-tax New Zealand introduces 'fart tax' JP/16/Money

New Zealand introduces 'fart tax'

AUCKLAND: A tax on farting, belching livestock to be introduced by New Zealand to help combat global warming is creating a stink among the country's farmers.

Methane emissions created by grass-munching cows, sheep, deer and goats are believed to account for about half of New Zealand's emissions of greenhouse gases.

Now the country is attempting to clear the air by introducing a levy on pungent emissions by mid-2004.

The tax will fund a new Agriculture Emissions Research body to meet commitments to the Kyoto Protocol global environment agreement.

But farmers are outraged, saying the agricultural sector is already paying for its own research.

Tom Lambie, president of agricultural body Federated Farmers, said the levy disadvantaged farmers struggling to compete against less gas-anxious nations.

"As far as I'm aware, we're the only country in the world to impose a levy like this," he said. -- AFP