Producers allege CPO smuggling

Producers allege CPO smuggling

JAKARTA (JP): Crude palm oil (CPO) producers in North Sumatra
have urged the Attorney General's Office to investigate alleged
CPO smuggling by PT Bukit Kapur Reksa through the Riau seaport of
Dumai.

"Such contraband trade sabotages the cooking oil price
stabilization program and is not fair to us," they said in a
statement.

The producers also called on the Cooking Oil Producers
Association to bring up the smuggling issue with the attorney
general.

The government has completely banned the export of CPO and its
derivatives from January until March in a contingency program to
stabilize cooking oil prices, but coconut oil is not included in
the export ban.

"The government should investigate thoroughly the alleged
export smuggling of CPO and its derivatives through Dumai," Derom
Bangun, the chairman of the association, was quoted by Bisnis
Indonesia daily as saying in Medan.

The producers alleged that Bukit Kapur Reksa was about to
export 3,000 tons of refined bleached deodorized (RBD) palm
kernel oil from Dumai to the United States on Jan. 27.

Earlier on Jan. 7, they said, Bukit Kapur Reksa also succeeded
in smuggling to Singapore 33,000 tons of CPO and its derivatives.
The shipment was made by the MV Fertility.

They showed a copy of the document issued by shipping agency
PT Samudra Petrindo Asia dated Jan. 13 which notified the
Directorate General of Sea Transportation in Jakarta that Bukit
Kapur Reksa had set aside 3,000 tons of RBD palm kernel oil to be
transported by MT Stolt Guardian to New Orleans, U.S., on Jan.
27.

But Abdul Aziz Afandi of Samudra Petrindo said here yesterday
that the cargo listed in Samudra's letter to the directorate
general was misprinted. It should have been RBD coconut oil
instead of RBD palm kernel oil.

However, Samudra's letter of notification to its handling
agent in Dumai, PT Pelayaran Bahtera Adhiguna, regarding the same
shipping instruction also printed RBD palm kernel oil and not RBD
coconut oil.

Bukit Kapur Reksa also denied the allegations, saying it was
to export 5,000 tons of RBD coconut oil and not RBD palm kernel
oil.

A copy of the shipping instructions sent by Bukit Kapur Reksa
to The Jakarta Post did stipulate RBD coconut oil as the cargo.

Teddy, a shipping administrator with Bukit Kapur Reksa, told
the Post yesterday that the 5,000 tons of RBD coconut oil came
from its sister company, PT Karya Prajona Nelayan, in North
Sumatra.

But he declined to comment as to why the coconut oil was not
exported from the North Sumatran port of Belawan which is bigger
and better-equipped than the Dumai port in the central part of
Sumatra.

The producers contended though that Bukit Kapur Reksa had
simply changed the name of the cargo to mislead local authorities
while it was really RBD palm kernel oil that was about to be
exported.

"Where could Karya Prajona had collected such a large volume
of coconut oil in N. Sumatra at this point in time," one of the
producers said.

They suspected Bukit Kapur Reksa could be colluding with local
authorities to violate the export ban. (jsk/vin)