Indonesia's Food Imports From Malaysia Up 400 Percent

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Indonesia's food imports from Malaysia have surged by leaps and bounds, registering 400 per cent jump. Indonesian Food and Beverages Entrepreneurs' Association Confederation secretary-general Franky Sibarani said Indonesia imported US$12.5 million worth of foodstuffs from Malaysia as of April and till end-October, the figure swelled to US$48.8 million. "The figure rose by four fold in six months or about 400 per cent," he was quoted as saying by "Media Indonesia" Sunday. Sibarani said food imports from Malaysia accounted for 24.7 per cent of Indonesia's total food and beverage imports till October. In April, it was only 18.5 per cent, he said. Besides Malaysia, imports from other Asean countries have also increased, surging to US$96.5 million as compared with US$31.37 million in April. "There was an upsurge of USS65.13 million since April, up three fold. The uptrend is dominated by food products from Malaysia," he said. Sibarani expects Indonesia's food import figures would continue to spiral with the implementation of the Asean Economic Community in 2015. Indonesia's food and beverages market is being increasingly dominated by foreign products due to the government's weak support to boost competitiveness and domestic market protection, he added. -- BERNAMA