RI exporters' must meet int'l standards'

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): The government's efforts to open up the Australian market to Indonesian exports should be coupled with exporters pushing the market with quality products, experts believe.

At the conclusion of a two-day Australia-Indonesia business conference and exhibition here yesterday, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Wiryono Sastro Handoyo said the government could serve as catalyst but the private sector would remain "the prime player in the field".

Considering the high standards imposed by Australia, Wiryono suggested that Indonesian exporters adopt internationally recognized standards in their production processes to improve the quality of their goods.

"What matters in the end is the quality of the products themselves. If you are out of quality, you are definitely out of business," Wiryono said.

Citing an example, Wiryono said some Indonesian foodstuffs exported to Australia did not comply with quality standards in terms of packaging.

Some 20 Indonesian products were held up by the Australian quarantine inspection service because they had no labels explaining their chemical content, he said.

"In terms of health standards, you only talk about clean or not clean, healthy or unhealthy, diseased or not, it is as simple as that," Wiryono said.

He said the decision by the Australian and Indonesian governments to seek a mutual recognition agreement on standards should help Indonesian exporters realize the need to adopt international standards in their production processes.

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sutjipto Umar, said Indonesian food producers should adopt the ISO 9000 series quality assurance system to ensure that their products met international standards.

"If our products meet international standards, I believe they will have no difficulty entering the Australian market and thus reduce our large trade deficit with Australia," Sutjipto said.

Indonesia has been suffering from a lop-sided trade imbalance with Australia. Indonesia's trade deficit with Australia increased 37 percent to A$1.44 billion last year from A$1.04 billion in 1995.

Australia's exports to Indonesia rose 32 percent to A$3.15 billion last year from $2.39 billion in 1995, while its imports from Indonesia rose 27 percent to $1.7 billion from $1.3 billion.

Sabam Siagian, former Indonesian ambassador to Australia, said the government had formed an inter-departmental forum, in which he participated, to reduce Indonesia's trade deficit with Australia.

Sabam suggested Australia also take steps to minimize the two- way trade imbalance by giving easier access to Indonesian export goods.

He said the holding-up of Indonesian goods by the Australia quarantine inspection service would bring no benefit to either country.

Although the holding orders issue (for Indonesian exports) is small when looked at in the wider context, given the neo- nationalistic tendencies currently under the surface in Indonesia, it could be seen as negative, he said. (rid)