Indonesia: Fighting against illegal potato imports
Indonesia continues its fight against illegal potato imports which have been affecting farmers in the country.
On Thursday, the government pledged to stop illegal imports of Granola potatoes, while leaving Atlantic potato imports alone. The difference being that Atlantic potatoes aren’t used for planting but mainly for chips and french fries.
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, said the government would hasten their efforts to help farmers boost productivity. The ministry plans to soon deploy over 1,000 agriculture experts to help potato farmers across the archipelago.
According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, potato imports reached 18,674 tons during the first nine months of 2016, with a total import value of US$8.82 million.
Last month prices for potatoes were around 37 US cents a kg which was bad news for farmers, since that is around the same price it costs to produce. Luckily prices shot back up by almost double this week.
source: thejakartapost.com
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/168033/Indonesia-fighting-against-illegal-potato-imports
