Govt Tightens Imports from China after Coronavirus Outbreak

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto ensured that Indonesia’s trade business with China was not affected by the coronavirus outbreak thus far. Agus said the demand for Chinese-made products remained high.

"I think there is no impact yet. [We still apply] the same export procedure," said Agus at the National Work Meeting of the Agriculture Ministry at Jakarta Bidakara Hotel on Monday, January 27.

However, Agus said the government was mulling over the possibility of import restrictions, and that the discussion involved the Health Ministry. "We will evaluate it because this is a new incident and developing rapidly," he added.

To date, the new virus has continuously spread to many regions. The same cases also occurred in South Korea, Malaysia, the United States, until Canada. The death toll in China, where the virus was first reported, currently reaches 56 people.

The Director-General of Foreign Trade at the Trade Ministry, Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana, said his side was coordinating with the Agriculture Ministry to discuss the restrictions. "If the Agriculture Ministry issue a warning that a product may have a certain impact, we will ask for their input.”

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Horticulture at the Agriculture Ministry, Prihasto Setyanto, underlined that Indonesia’s garlic was not imported from Wuhan City, where the virus first appeared.

Prihasto further asserted that there was no virus transmission through horticultural products such as garlic imported from China. "[Coronavirus originated] from bats, isn't it?" he remarked.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO