Rejected food exports cost Indonesia $100m

Rejected food exports cost Indonesia $100m

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia currently loses up to US$100 million
each year due to poor quality food exports, State Minister of
Food Ibrahim Hasan said.

Speaking after a meeting with President Soeharto at Merdeka
Palace, Ibrahim said that each year about 500 cases of Indonesian
processed food exports worth $100 million were rejected by
importing countries.

"In terms of taste Indonesian products are very good but often
they do not meet the quality standards of importer countries," he
said.

"So it is our duty to improve the quality standards of our
food so it can be accepted by countries all over the world," he
said.

He said countries that had strict food quality standards but
were also Indonesia's main export markets were the United States,
Japan and Australia.

Ibrahim said most food was rejected due to poor packaging,
food ingredient compositions that did not match the standards of
importer countries and because contaminants and pesticides were
detected in the food.

Ibrahim said his office was currently formulating national
guidelines on food quality standards based on international
rulings.

"Currently we export without thinking about it, we don't pay
attention to quality standards. Many food industries do not apply
the ISO standards of quality management and environment," he
said.

The government last year enacted a food law containing clauses
on the regulation, supervision and control of foodstuffs to be
distributed and sold.

Under the law industries are expected to produce food which
meets safety, quality and nutrition requirements.

The law was expected to help Indonesia face challenges that
may arise with the implementation of the World Trade Organization
rules in the next century.

The Central Bureau of Statistics said exports of processed
food in the 1996 calender year reached US$961.95 million, up from
US$818.72 million in 1995 and $813.22 million in 1994.

In terms of value, the bulk of exports came mainly from
processed fish, processed fruit and vegetables, processed
cigarettes and tobacco and processed cocoa. (pwn)