Farmers Ask the Government to Stop Importing Tobacco

The farmers who are members of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) ask the government to stop the import of tobacco which is detrimental to farmers.

Chairman of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) Agus Parmuji in Jakarta, Thursday (9/09/2016), said Indonesian farmers were still very capable of producing their own tobacco, both in terms of land and human resources.

"Therefore, farmers have long protested against government policies that are considered too lax towards tobacco imports, what is needed is a policy to intensify tobacco," he said.

According to him, until now the cigarette industry is the only one that has added value or "added value" for Indonesia.

"Because all the raw materials for cigarettes are here. Strangely, Indonesian farmers remain poor because the cigarette industry is not yet a host in their own country," he said.

He believes that for tobacco farmers in Indonesia to prosper, imports should be stopped.

Therefore the government must increase cigarette excise tax at least three times or up to 20 percent as a step to protect tobacco and clove farmers.

"I expect the DPR to support our struggle and convey to the government that cigarette farmers can enjoy prosperity in this country," he said.

Based on data from the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI), national cigarette production in 2015 was recorded at 360 billion sticks.

For this reason, tobacco supply is needed in the range of 360 thousand tons (1 cigarette = 1 gram of tobacco).

According to APTI data, Indonesia's farmers' tobacco production capacity in 2015 reached 225,583 tons.

This means, he said, that there are still around 175 thousand tons of demand, which was then closed down by the government by importing tobacco from abroad, among others from the Americas and China.

Former Director General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture, Gamal Nasir supports measures that will stop the import of tobacco.

"We need to protect tobacco farmers by stopping tobacco imports. If there is an import mandatory recommendation from the tobacco farmers association and the Ministry of Agriculture," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission IV of the FPKB, Daniel Djohan promised to garner the support of all parties to refuse imports of all raw materials for cigarettes ("zero import") and various foreign investments in the cigarette sector.

"We reject all types of imports related to cigarettes, including foreign investment. Therefore, we ask all cigarette and clove farmers to be together to succeed in this Draft of the Tobacco Law," he said. 

Source : https://www.wartaekonomi.co.id/read111933/petani-minta-pemerintah-stop-impor-tembakau.html