RI exporters' must meet int'l standards'

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)