Minister brushes off criticism over plan to limit import gateways

Despite criticism from international and domestic stakeholders, the government remains committed to the plan to limit gateways for horticulture imports as part of a concerted effort to ensure food safety requirements following several incidents.

The impact of the plan, which will see importers rerouting their goods to four designated air and seaports, has been considered troublesome, as direct access to Jakarta would be severely disrupted by the exclusion of Indonesia’s greatest trading access area, the Tanjung Priok Port.

Under a set of new regulations that were issued last month, the entry points for horticultural imports will be reduced starting March 19 to four: Belawan seaport in Medan, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Tanjung Perak seaport in Surabaya and Soekarno-Hatta seaport in Makassar.

The new rule also demands the government expand the supervision of imported plant-based fresh food products from 39 to 100 varieties, covering agricultural products as well as food and plantation crops due to possible contamination from deadly chemicals, heavy metals, mycotoxins and microorganisms, such as E. coli and salmonella.

“We do not want to see an influx of imported goods to have a negative impact on local crops. Some of the imported products brought pests. It is dangerous. Heightened security is a must,” Suswono told reporters during a special press conference to address criticism on Monday.

He added that better scrutiny over the imported products would protect the Indonesian market from “garbage goods”.

The United States Department of Agriculture, the New Zealand embassy, the East Java administration and Indonesian importers have expressed their discontent over the new port entry mechanism.

The East Java government is particularly concerned with the fact that the Tanjung Perak port had become the chosen port for horticulture imports and is fearful of the possible impacts on local crops in the province.

According to the ministry’s food and plants quarantine agency, a total of 15 incidents were recorded at the Tanjung Priok port over the past two years, where imported products were tainted by unique pathogens and pests that could be detrimental to Indonesian crops.

The agency also revealed over the past several year a series of indications indicating the potential for a whitefly pest (Bemisia tabaci-Genn) outbreak in West Java. Outbreaks of the golden eelworm (Globodera rostochiensis) pests — unique to South America, were also found in Central Java and East Java within the period.

Agriculture Quarantine Agency chief Banun Harpini said Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya had been equipped with accredited quarantine facilities, representing 70 percent of handling capacity for horticulture imports.

“The [Tanjung Perak] port is ready to receive the transfer of between 100 containers and 150 containers from Tanjung Priok port, which has been overloaded,” she said, pointing out that the port had the necessary and sufficient facilities for the quarantine process to be conducted.

She added that the imported fruits and vegetables would be transported by ship and possibly would eventually be delivered by trains and trucks.

Banun asserted that the temporary closing of Tanjung Priok port as the import entry would not violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

“We apply this to all source of import countries. Each country has the right to determine its appropriate level of protection,” she said.

Indonesia’s imports of fruits rose by 50.48 percent to 878,318 tons and imports of vegetables surge by 29.21 percent to 746,857 tons last year.