By Manny Piñol
Indonesia, long known for its restrictive trade regulations which prevent the entry of Philippine products, has finally opened its market to coconut products, banana, onion and tobacco.
Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita made the announcement yesterday following bilateral talks with the Philippines at the Shangrila Hotel in Makati.
The Philippines was represented by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.
Lukita also pledged to work on the request of the Philippines to export poultry products and poultry feeds.
The two sides also agreed to form a technical working group to work on the issue of oversupply of Palm Oil to the Philippines which resulted in the drop in prices of copra.
Indonesia coffee and snacks giant PT Mayora also signed a purchase agreement for 1,000 metric tons of dessicated coconut and coconut oil.
PT Mayora which is known for its coffee brand Kopiko also signed a land acquisition deal in Batangas for the establishment of a processing facility.
The Philippines has long complained against the restrictive trade policies of Indonesia which has resulted in a huge trade imbalance of $5.8-B in favor of Indonesia.
During the activity today, Lukita submitted to the Department of Agriculture two documents which now clear the way for the export of banana and Shalots to Indonesia.
The documents included a notice removing anti-dumping measure against Philippine bananas, recognition of Davao Region, Northern Mindanao and Central Mindanao as pest-free areas for the production of bananas and Nueva Ecija,Ilocos and Mindoro as pest-free areas for Shalot/Onionproduction.
Another document accredited three testing laboratories for fresh food from the Philippines.
Minister Lukita said that with these documents, the Philippines can now start exporting bananas and Onion to Indonesia.
He also announced that Indonesia will now adopt a policy of first sourcing products which they need from the Philippines.
The Philippines used to sell Shalots and Tobacco to Indonesia until the latter adopted policies which effectively closed their market to products from the Philippines.
(Photos by Diane Faith Garcia)
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