Jakarta, Aug 7 (Antara) - The local farmers have always voiced their complaints about the imported salt and agricultural products, such as rice and sugar when these products are flooding the domestic market.
Concurrently, the government is obligated to protect the interests of farmers and consumers, while businesses are only keen to make considerable profits.
Hence, when the prices and quality of local products fail to compete in the domestic market, importers tend to look to foreign goods that harm the interest of the farmers.
To create a balanced environment for businesses, farmers, and consumers, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will form a task force team to audit salt imports as part of its efforts to supervise the salt business in the country.
Salt farmers have so far complained about the imported salt, and domestic production has now dropped due to the commodity's declining prospects in the country.
The price of salt in the domestic market is about Rp750 to Rp1.5 thousand per kilogram (kg) while salt from Australia, for instance, costs only Rp500.
Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti stated on Wednesday that if this condition is left unheeded, domestic salt businesses will only import the product.
As a result, various sides will show lesser interest in investing in and working to advance the domestic salt business.
"This is the main reason why the interest of farmers is harmed. The price of the commodity at the farmers' level will be very low," she noted.
In fact, the Ministry of Trade regulates when salt imports can be carried out, so that the interest of the local salt farmers is not harmed.
"We believe that the salt importers ignore it (the regulation) and do not care for the fate of the farmers. They are only concerned about generating profits," she remarked.
Moreover, the minister stated that the importers earn considerable amount of profit.
The minister remarked that she had held a meeting with the importers and farmers. However, salt importers did not show any goodwill during the meeting.
"We intended to discuss the challenges faced in making the country a self-reliant producer, but the salt importers had shown no goodwill," Minister Pudjiastuti noted.
"I feel as though I am not respected, and that the state's aspirations are not appreciated," she added.
The minister admitted to understanding the reason behind the importers' behavior as the quality of salt produced by farmers was not good.
However, they should control their imports to prevent an influx of imported salt during the country's salt harvest season.
Therefore, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will form a task force team in its efforts to conduct supervision on salt imports.
The team will audit the mechanism and volume of salt imported from several countries, including Australia.
"We will set up a special supervisory task force to monitor imported salt," Minister Pudjiastuti affirmed in her office.
She explained that the team will be tasked with conducting audits on imported salt to evaluate whether its volume is in accordance with the permitted quota and whether it is really being utilized to meet the needs of the industries.
"The task force team cannot impose sanctions. Its task is only to audit the imported salt," remarked Minister Pudjiastuti.
She affirmed that the ultimate goal behind establishing the team is to maintain a neutral and fair environment among the consumers, farmers, and salt importers.
The public should not buy overpriced salt, even though doing so does not harm the interests of farmers or businesses.
Thus, salt imports will soon be controlled, so that they do not exceed the quota and disadvantage the market.
Based on data at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the nation's salt requirement in 2015 is projected to reach 4.019 million tons, of which 2.05 million tons are for industries and 1.9 million tons are for households.
However, based on data at the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Industry, the nation's salt requirement in 2015 is forecast to reach 3.304 million tons of which 2.559 tons are for industries and 744,780 tons are for household consumption. The local production in 2015 is estimated at 1.6-1.7 million tons.
In the meantime, Abdul Halim, the secretary general of the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), express regret that it is saddening if imported salt harmed the interest of the local farmers in various regions.
"Local farmers have to bow down to imports," noted Halim in Jakarta on Sunday (August 2).
He pointed out that there is almost no support for the local farmers, either in the form of capital or market access to sell their harvested salt.
The Kiara secretary general acknowledged that the salt farmers received no serious attention despite the fact that funds were available at the relevant ministries.
Earlier, food and beverage industries revealed that they were facing shortages of raw salt and refined sugar stocks, according to Adhi Lukman, the general chairman of the All Indonesia Beverage and Food Industries Association.
"Salt and sugar are part of the main raw materials for the food and beverage industries," Lukman stated last month.
Lukman remarked that it is difficult for industries to compete and conduct their business efficiently if they run short of raw materials.
This will eventually disadvantage the consumers and the national economy as a whole.
"This will make Indonesian products less competitive," he asserted.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Salt Consumer Industries Association (AIPGI) expressed its readiness to absorb some 900 thousand tons of salt produced by the domestic farmers this year.
"Eight members of the AIPGI will buy 900 thousand tons of salt produced by the domestic farmers, particularly salt of the first and second quality (K1 and K2)," Chairman of AIPGI Tony Tanduk remarked last week.
Tanduk stated that the eight AIPGI members absorbed 70 percent of the local salt sold to industries while small- and medium-scale industries absorbed the remaining 30 percent.
He stated that the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that the dry season in the country's salt production centers would begin in dasarian 2 (second ten-day season) of August to dasarian 2 of November, or about five months.
"The grand salt harvest seasons are expected in August, September, and October, 2015. Production is estimated at 1.6-1.7 million tons in 2015," Tanduk added. ***1***
(T.A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.SYS/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 07-08-2015 15:27:5 |
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