Distance Tax Obstruct Indonesia - Morocco Trading

Padang, W Java, Oct 13 (Antara) - The distances and high incoming goods tax are still obstructing trading relations between Indonesia and Morocco, Consular Minister of Economic Functions, in the Indonesian Embassy in Rabat, Tanti Widyastuti, said here Monday. If trading is done in a large number of goods, the constraints can be minimized, according to her. The agreement of trading between Indonesia and Morocco was signed in 1988, and was ratified through the Presidential Decision in 1990, Tanti said. However, the implementation of the agreement is still negligible. "The incoming goods tax in both countries is still way too high. Therefore, if the trading is in small amounts, it will be beneficial for businesspersons," she said. Actually, with the border Morocco shares with European countries, the country could be a gateway for Indonesian businesspersons to expand their business to Europe, Tanti explained. In addition, the political situation in Morocco is quite stable, so businesspersons should not be worried, she added. "The potential should not be missed. Therefore, these distances and tax constraints have to be overcome to establish a mutual trading relationship. One of the ways is by increasing the amount of trading commodities to reduce the transportation cost," Tanti said. In order to improve the relationship, the Indonesian Embassy in Morocco is planning various measures. The first is a business meeting between the West Sumatra and the Morocco businesspersons in Padang, West Sumatra. The exported potential commodities to Morocco are coffee beans, tea leaves, and tuna, Tanti said. "Moroccans like to drink coffee and tea. They usually can the tunas and sell it to their neighboring countries," she added. The province has a number of leading commodities to be exported to Morocco, the Head of West Sumatra`s Industry and Trading Office, Rahmat Syahni, said. "We are facilitating the possibility of cooperation between Indonesian and Morocco. We hope cooperation will soon be established to improve the economy in both countries," he added.