Flour industry mulls asking for protective measures vs imports

The flour industry is considering asking the government to impose protective measures on wheat flour imports to protect local producers. The move might be prompted by the recent action of Indonesian flour producers asking their government to impose safeguards on imports for their own security. Flour imports, particularly Turkish flour, has been flooding both Indonesian and Philippine markets. Indonesia informed the World Trade Organization that a 200-day provisional safeguard measure of 20-percent ad valorem duty would be imposed on imported flour. According to a notice circulated by the Indonesian delegation, there was a “significant increase” in the volume of flour imports in 2008-2009 (21.5 percent) and 2009-2010 (20.24 percent). "Except in 2011, an increase in the volume of wheat imports during the period of 2008 to 2010 which resulted in an increase in the market share of imports of wheat flour from 100 index points in the year 2008, to 115 index points in 2010," the report said. It was also reported that imported flour mostly from Turkey has taken 14.2 percent of the 4.8 million metric ton Indonesian flour market. — BM, GMA News