Aussie fruit gets Indonesian reprieve

The federal government made “very strong representations” to win Australian fruit and vegetable suppliers continued access to Jakarta’s main seaport, Trade Minister Craig Emerson says.

Indonesia has decided to exempt Australian, Canadian and US suppliers from a new ban on horticultural products arriving at the Tanjung Priok port.

The Indonesians originally announced the ban on all fruit and vegetable products in an effort to toughen food safety and quarantine systems.

“But as a result of very strong representations, and the cooperation of the Indonesian authorities – including Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, a good friend of mine – we were able to achieve this breakthrough,” Dr Emerson told ABC radio on Wednesday.

The Indonesians were convinced Australian horticultural exports are of high quality and do not carry bugs or contain excessive pesticides, he said.

Australian fruit, vegetable and nut exports to Indonesia are worth close to $60 million a year.

AA

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes