RI to up rice, sugar duties

RI to up rice, sugar duties

JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesia is considering raising import duties on rice, sugar and soybeans to protect local producers, a senior trade and industry official said on Wednesday.

"We are discussing plans to raise import duties on rice, sugar and soybeans," Director General of International Trade Riyanto Yosokumoro told reporters.

"It's still being discussed by the tariff team so I can't give you the figures. But the proposal is to raise the duties."

The country currently imposes a 30 percent import duty on rice, 20 percent on raw sugar and 25 percent on whites. It imposes a zero import duty on soybeans.

Farmers and producers say duties are not enough to control imports.

Industry sources said rice imports were expected to fall below one million tons in 2001 from 2.5 million in 2000 due to an expected good domestic crop and abundant stocks.

Sugar imports are expected to rise to between 1.5 and 1.7 million tons sin 2001, from 1.2 million in 2000, according to the Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI).

The country is also expected to import 1.3 million tons of soybeans this year, similar to last year.