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Indonesia to maintain rules on chicken imports as WTO dispute with Brazil continues
The Trade Ministry says it will appeal a World Trade Organization (WTO) report blaming Indonesia for obstructing imports and vows that Brazilian chicken will not flood the domestic market.
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Chicken traders serve customers at Toddopuli Market in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in April 2020. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
The government says there will be no changes to the import of chicken products from Brazil as a dispute settlement continues with both countries pursuing an appeal.
Indonesia announced in December it would appeal a report on the matter issued by the compliance panel of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, citing certain issues and legal interpretations in the report. The WTO claims Indonesia has been obstructing chicken imports from Brazil.
Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, the director general for international trade cooperation at the Trade Ministry, claimed Indonesia had not lost the dispute, so there would be no increase in Brazilian chicken imports.
“The government has no intention of changing the policy until this case is really over,” Djatmiko said in an online press conference on Monday. “We do not know what the result will be, but once the appeal process begins, we will defend [our stance on] this dispute.”
Indonesia’s poultry industry is under pressure from rising production costs, driven in large part by higher feed prices. The WTO case started with a consultation request made by Brazil in 2014. The original panel issued its final report in 2017.
Read also: Indonesia open to chicken imports from Brazil after WTO ruling
