RI'S WHEAT IMPORTS EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS YEAR

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 12 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's wheat imports are expected to increase this year, even as it has imposed a 20 percent duty on wheat to protect the local industry from alleged dumping practices by Turkish exporters.          Indonesia's wheat imports have continued to increase, totaling 5.5 million tonnes in 2011 and increasing 9 percent to about 6 million tonnes in 2012.  The country's imports of wheat this year are expected to rise by about 6-7 percent.          "Our national wheat flour output must increase because of the wheat flour safeguard duty," Franciscus Welirang, chairman of the Indonesian Flour Mills Association (Aptindo), was quoted as saying by online media brecorder.com.          The Indonesian government has imposed an emergency safeguarding tax on wheat imports due to alleged dumping in its domestic market, as practiced by Turkish exporters.            According to the head of the Communication and Information Services of the Finance Ministry, Yudi Pramadi, on Saturday,  the import duty has been imposed through the finance minister's decree No. 139/PMK.011/2012.          The decree was issued to protect the industry at home in accordance with Article 70 of Government Regulation No.34/2011 on Anti-Dumping, Counter-balance, and Trade Security Actions.  The temporary import duty will remain in effect for 200 days, having begun on December 5, 2012.           The import duty will be imposed on wheat imports from all countries, except those specified in the annex in the decree.  On November 13, 2012, Indonesia's Trade Minister, Gita Wirjawan, submitted a recommendation for the imposition of a 20-percent provisional import duty on flour imports from Turkey.          Meanwhile, Ratna Sari Loppies, executive director of  Aptindo, said domestic flour prices in Turkey is US$470 per metric tonne. However, the selling price in Indonesia is set at US$340-US$370 per metric tonne, according to data provided by the US Department of Agriculture.          Earlier, Aptindo proposed an anti-dumping duty of between 19.67 percent and 20.99 percent, but this was rejected by the finance ministry.           The petition was filed by four Aptindo flour producers: PT Panganmas, PT Lumbung Nasional, PT Golden Grand Mill, and PT Berkat Indah Gemilang. These producers claimed to have suffered financial losses due to the alleged dumping.          However, The Turkish Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Product Exporters Union (TCPOSPEU) expressed disappointment over the temporary safeguard duty, saying the measure has been implemented unfairly.          "We regretted the fact that the authorized body in Indonesia has decided to accept the biased recommendation, which was against the World Trade Organization (WTO) and forwarded by the Indonesian Trade Safety Committee (KPPI) ," Turgay Unlu, TCPOSPEU chairman, said.          He said that his members had assessed the KPPI notification to WTO and the Central Anatolian Exporters Unions (OAIB) was convinced that the Indonesian investigation into the dumping allegation was baseless.          "When we read the KPPI notification to the WTO, we thought that we were reading the Aptindo press statement it released last November," he said.          Turgy Unlu said earlier that the imposition of a 20 percent provisional safeguard duty on flour imports would result in local wheat producers monopolizing the market.          According to Unlu, there is no country which imposes such duties on flour imports from Turkey. Indonesia is the only country in the world to have imposed such duties.         "Aptindo and a number of local producers are only interested in protecting their own interests, without looking at the interests of Indonesians," he added.          Regarding the complaint made by Turkish wheat flour exporters over Indonesia's enacting a safeguard duty on its wheat imports, Ratna Sari Loppies of the Aptindo said that Turkey should lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).          Ratna also rejected Unlu's claims that the petition was filed merely because Indonesia's medium-sized flour producers were struggling to compete with large producers, such as PT Bogasari, which controls more than 60 percent of the domestic flour production.         "They are struggling because of the dumping practices by Turkish flour producers," she said.         The Turkish exporters are using the lobbying approach to influence certain parties in Indonesia. They are ignoring the WTO mechanism, said Ratna. "They are not aware that they are violating WTO's regulations," she added.          Data from Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that Indonesia's flour imports from Turkey, in the first quarter of this year, reached 63,267 tonnes.          Turkey is one of the main exporters of flour to Indonesia. Other major suppliers include Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belgium and Australia.         According to data compiled by the Turkish Central Anatolia Export Association, Turkey's wheat exports to Indonesia have been on the decline since 2010. Turkey exported 454,768 tonnes of wheat to Indonesia in 2010, while shipments fell to 387,406 tonnes last year.         Last year, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belgium and Australia exported 207,790 tonnes, recording 31,449 tonnes, 22,138 tonnes and 14,906 tonnes of flour to Indonesia, respectively.         In the meantime, the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported that in 2012 Indonesia was the second largest wheat importer in the world, with an import volume of 7.1 million tons.          The largest wheat importing country was Egypt, with an import volume of 10 million tons.      According to a Bloomberg report, Indonesia, which does not grow wheat, relies on imports to meet its demand for wheat used in making bread, noodles and pasta, as well as feed for pigs and chickens. Indonesia will import 6.6 million tons in the year that began July 1, up from 6.46 million tons one year earlier, the USDA estimates.***3*** (T.A014/INE/H-YH) (T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A/H-YH) 12-01-2013 18:23