Watch out for Indonesia's wheat flour crisis; production threatened to drop 50% because of this

Published Apr 18, 2024

Tridge summary

The Indonesian Wheat Flour Association (Aptindo) has expressed concerns over the Minister of Trade Regulation No. 36/2023, updated to No. 3/2024, which mandates Import Approval (PI) in addition to the Surveyor's Report (LS) for importing Fortified Premixes, crucial for wheat flour production. This regulation could potentially halve the country's wheat flour supply, affecting the mandatory fortification with vitamins and minerals, leading to scarcity and price hikes. Aptindo has sought government intervention for a review or exceptions for Fortified Premix imports to comply with SNI fortification standards and safeguard the national supply and SMEs dependent on it. In response, the Ministry of Trade plans to revise the regulation, considering the exclusion of Fortificant Premixes from the list of regulated goods, following feedback from stakeholders and discussions at a ministerial-level meeting.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) No. 36/2023 concerning Import Policies and Regulations, which has been changed to Permendag No. 3/2024 has drawn protests. This time, the criticism came from domestic wheat flour entrepreneurs. General Chair of the Indonesian Wheat Flour Association (Aptindo) Franciscus (Franky) Welirang said that the Minister of Trade Regulation could threaten the supply of wheat flour in the country. In fact, it could cause supply to drop by up to 50%. How come? Franky said, Minister of Trade Regulation No. 36/2023 stipulates that the import of Fortified Premixes, which was previously only with LS (Surveyor's Report), now requires Import Approval (PI) and LS. The new provisions, he said, interfere with the supply of Fortified Premix needed to produce wheat flour. In this case, the fortification premix that the domestic wheat flour industry needs are micronutrients such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), folic acid, vitamin B1 and vitamin ...

Source: Cnbcindonesia