RI and Thailand plan planes-for-sugar deal
RI and Thailand plan planes-for-sugar deal
BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Indonesia is seeking the second
countertrade deal this year with Thailand, offering its locally-
manufactured aircraft for Thai sugar.
"The government is trying to conclude that deal," said
Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto
after addressing the ruling party Golkar's scientific meeting
here yesterday.
Hartarto, however, acknowledged that some problems remained
before the plane-for-sugar deal could be finalized, because
Thailand's sugar trade was conducted through the London Commodity
Exchange.
"But we will do our best to make the deal," Hartarto added.
The government in April signed a US$34 million deal to swap
two Indonesian-made CN-235 airplanes for 110,000 tons of Thai
glutinous rice.
The Memorandum of Understanding for the countertrade deal was
signed by Indonesian State Minister of Research and Technology
B.J. Habibie and Thailand's Minister of Agriculture and
Cooperatives, Suwit Khunkitti.
The two CN-235s are manufactured by IPTN, the state-owned
aircraft industry in Bandung.
In a similar deal several years ago, Thailand purchased five
Indonesian NC-212s, which have been used by the ASEAN country for
seeding clouds.
Hartarto pointed out that Indonesia has to import a large
volume of sugar this year. "Our sugar import this year could
reach 400,000 tons, of which about 300,000 tons will be imported
from Thailand," he said.
Last year, Indonesia also had to import 400,000 tons of sugar
to meet the demand, which reached 2.6 million tons.
Due to bad weather, the country's sugar production last year
dropped by 14 percent to 2.1 million tons.
Hartarto said that to increase sugar production, the
government is currently making efforts to build sugar mills and
plantations outside Java island.
The government decided earlier this year to gradually close
down small and obsolete sugar mills in Java island for efficiency
reasons. To prevent price escalations, new mills will be built
outside Java. (17/13)