Central Burnett producers not affected by Jakarta incident

CENTRAL Burnett Citrus producers have said it is business as usual despite reports of Australian citrus being held up at the port in Jakarta.

The Central and North Burnett Times made contact with a number of local citrus producers including Gayndah Packers Cooperative who reported they had not been affected by the hold up.

However, it has been confirmed over 400 containers of citrus have been stopped at the docks in Jakarta for more than two weeks.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) said the containers were held up at Tanjung Priok, Jakarta and the port in Surabaya, due to the implementation of new import permit requirements.

A DAFF spokesman said a relatively small percentage was from Australia.

"The Australian Government understands that import permits are currently being processed and will be issued for all containers to enter the Indonesian market,'' the spokesman said.

"New regulations for the importation of horticultural products into Indonesia were implemented from October 28... which, among other things, establish new procedures for the issuance of import permits."

Australian Embassy officials in Jakarta are working with Indonesian Government agencies to resolve the issue.