RI's plan to impose flour duties dropped

RI's plan to impose flour duties dropped

Reuters, Jakarta

Indonesia has decided to drop its plan to impose anti-dumping duties on wheat flour in order to protect consumers from an increase in prices, a senior official of the trade and industry ministry said on Thursday.

The anti-dumping duties of up to 35 percent on wheat flour imports from the European Union, Australia and the United Arab Emirates were proposed by the country's anti-dumping committee (KADI) in order to protect local flour mills and was expected to be imposed soon.

"The trade and industry minister had asked the finance minister to drop the plan until an indefinite time and the finance minister has agreed," Hatanto Reksodipoetro, director General of international trade cooperation, told reporters.

"We have observed the impact of the duties to the consumers and producers, and now we are taking the consumers' side."

The plan to impose anti-dumping duties has drawn objections from the country's anti-monopoly commission (KKPU), which said it would create a more dominant position for Indonesia's largest flour miller PT Bogasari Flour Mills.

Indonesia allowed private traders to import wheat for the first time in decades in 1998 after reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on trade liberalization.

Before this, state commodity regulator Bulog imported wheat and paid Bogasari to process it for a fee.