Indonesia will notify the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of planned fresh produce import restrictions to explain why they are necessary to protect the health and safety of consumers there.
In December last year Indonesia announced plans to restrict imports of 47 kinds of fresh produce to just four points of entry.
While the restriction was to be enacted on 19 March the government announced earlier this week its implementation would be delayed by three months to give the fresh produce industry time to adjust to the changes.
According to a report by the Jakarta Post, the country’s trade minister Gita Wirjawan said Indonesia was not obliged to notify the WTO of its proposed restrictions but would do so to explain why it deemed them necessary.
“It will be normal for us, as a matter of courtesy, to explain this to the WTO at some point,” he told the Jakarta Post.
The trade ministry also signalled it was stepping up measures to prevent the import of unsafe produce.
“At the end, we will prohibit `imported` fruits coated with formalins and vegetables cultivated with pesticides from being sold on our domestic market. There should be a process and mechanism to filter such kinds of products from being directly sold here,” he explained.
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