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ndonesia has ensured its readiness to implement a preferential trade agreement (PTA) that it has long sealed with Pakistan by mid-August this year after providing special entry access for its counterpart'€™s key export commodity, kinnow oranges.

Trade Ministry director general for international trade cooperation Iman Pambagyo said on Tuesday in Jakarta that the government was finalizing verification to issue necessary recognition for kinnow oranges to enter the domestic market through Indonesia'€™s biggest port, Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta.

'€œOur team will visit two key areas that produce kinnow oranges for final verification next week,'€ Iman said.

Under a series of import rules launched last year, shipment of fruits and vegetables can reach the local market only through Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, and another five entry points excluding Tanjung Priok Port after overcapacity in the biggest international trade gateway led to poor supervision.

Tanjung Priok Port is now restricted to horticulture imports from countries sealing special arrangement with Indonesia, such as mutual recognition agreement (MRA) and pest-free area recognition.

Iman further said that when the PTA came into force in August, Indonesia would also enjoy considerably lower duty for its main export commodity, palm oil and thereby regain its competitive edge against rival Malaysia.

Currently, Pakistan still levies tariffs on Indonesian palm oil 15 percent higher compared to those on Malaysian palm oil, for which Malaysia already had signed a similar agreement in 2007. Indonesia and Pakistan concluded the long-deliberated talks on the PTA in September 2011 and signed the deal in February last year.

The deal aims to markedly push down Pakistan import duties for Indonesia on palm oil, of which Indonesia is the world'€™s biggest producer, to as low as Malaysia and in turn, Indonesia would eliminated import duties on kinnow oranges, of which Pakistan is the largest producer worldwide, from 25 percent.

Under the deal, Indonesia is required to trim import duties on 216 tariff lines of Pakistani products, including fresh fruit, cotton yarn and fabrics, ready-to-wear garments, fans, sporting goods and leather products.

On the other hand, Pakistan is slated to slash its rates on 287 Indonesian products, such as cocoa products, rubber products,
wood products, confectionery, chemicals, household products and electronics.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Pakistan stood at US$1.65 billion last year, up 44.74 percent from 2011, with Indonesia exporting $1.38 billion and importing $273.22 million.

The Agriculture Ministry'€™s Quarantine Agency chief, Banun Sri Harpini, confirmed that her team would visit production centers of kinnow oranges in Pakistan as part of the final stage to issue pest-free area recognition. The move would be a follow up to a series of technical checks conducted since March.