Agricultural imports from India suspended by Indonesia 2022

Agricultural imports

Indonesia has stopped imports of agricultural products from India, citing a failure by New Delhi officials to register laboratories that evaluate food safety and issue certificates of analysis (COA), causing worry among cereal exporters.

Buy Prime Test Series for all Banking, SSC, Insurance & other exams

KEY POINTS:

• In an order to the head of its Agricultural Quarantine Centre, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture stated that its authority to accredited laboratories for testing the safety of fresh food from India and issuing the COA has been revoked.
• COAs issued by laboratories indicating that clear exports of fresh food of plant origin were certified in 2019 would not be recognised, according to the Ministry, although certificates issued on or before March 24 will be legitimate.
• Indonesian exporters have been notified of the order. The news came after Indonesia issued a notice to exporters requiring them to give extra information to the COA.
• The notification was sent three to four months ago by Indonesia.
• While countries like Vietnam and Thailand were able to register their laboratories providing COAs well ahead of time, Indian authorities were unable to meet the deadline.
• The registration application should be submitted through diplomatic channels. However, the embassy in Jakarta failed to register on time.

As a result, many goods bound for Indonesian ports are now at risk of being halted or delayed. He added, “Even our consignments are on their way.” The Indian authorities finally submitted the application on March 31, but it has been stuck in limbo since then.

Official sources have told Reporters that the issue of Indian laboratories’ registration being extended as well as the clearance of cargo that had been tested by them before the deadline had been raised with the Indonesian authorities through the Indian embassy.

Indonesia’s contribution to Indian exports:

• Because Indonesia imports sugar, wheat, rice, maize, chilli, groundnut, and onion from India, exporters are concerned about the current situation. Last season, Indonesia contributed for roughly 30% of India’s sugar exports, which ended on September 30, 2021.
• The trend is expected to continue this year, as Indian costs have remained competitive, despite the logistical advantage.
• Indonesia accounted for roughly half of all groundnut exports in the fiscal year 2021-22, from April to January.
• During the April-January fiscal year 2021-22, Indonesia accounted for over half of India’s groundnut exports. According to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Jakarta imported 2.20 lakh tonnes (lt) of groundnut shipped out by New Delhi in the first ten months of the previous fiscal year, compared to total shipments of 4.41 lt.

During the April-January fiscal year 2021-22, Indonesia accounted for 6% of India’s wheat exports. It bought 3.64 litres out of the 60.2 litres shipped out over the time period. In terms of rice, Jakarta purchased 2.07 lt from India, accounting for 2% of the total 13.9 million tonnes shipped by New Delhi from April 2021 to January 2nd, 2022.

#Frequently Asked Question