Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita (Source: Antara)Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia willprioritise importing buffalo meat, rice and raw sugar from India, which agreedto adjust crude palm oil (CPO) tariff for the country earlier this month.
Indonesian Trade Minister EnggartiastoLukita said at a recent event that India has given Indonesia an opportunity toincrease its CPO exports, adding it is fair to give the South Asian nationaccess to the Indonesian market.
India is the largest palm oil market ofIndonesia with export share of about 20 percent, equivalent to 6.71 milliontonnes last year.
Previously, Indonesia’s palm oil products faceda 50 percent import tariff from India, while those from its rival producer Malaysiaenjoyed a lower tariff of 45 percent thanks to a bilateral deal. India hasagreed to adjust Indonesia’s tariff to match the levy faced by Malaysia.
In six months, Indonesia will ship CPO worthat least 500 million USD to India, Enggar said.
Despite prioritising India as an importorigin country, Indonesia would not increase the total volume of its meat, riceand raw sugar import, he noted, saying Indonesia will only buy what it needs aslong as the market can absorb the products.
He added that imports of India’s buffalomeat could fill in the gap of the 620,000-tonne meat demand as local producerscan only provide about 450,000 tonnes.
As for raw sugar, Enggar stated the countryhad equalised India’s import duty with other countries, namely Australia andThailand.
Meanwhile, when it comes to importing rice,Indonesia will prioritise India’s products, particularly basmati rice, theminister said, adding that the two countries were also looking at othercommodities for trade, such as textiles.
The two countries are aiming for 50 billionUSD in bilateral trade by 2025./.
VNA
