Swine Flu Affecting Indonesian Economics

source: VIVAnews

Indonesia is one of the countries that are still waiting for the continuation of the swine flu effects. Although economically the flu has not brought any significant impacts, the influences of the disease have started to surface.

Agricultural and Maritime Affairs Division Deputy Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Bayu Khrisnamurti, said the pandemic

virus of the swine flu has affected the economy. The sectors being affected include agricultural products, fodders, food, and stock prices.

“The export and import industry is started to get hold, but has not been cancelled”, Khrisnamurti said at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy’s office in Jakarta, on Thursday, April 30.

However, the condition is still being supervised on a day-to-day basis because the swine flu virus has been around for less than a week.

As for Indonesia, the amount of imported goods from the US, especially from the mid west (a harbor in the Mexican Gulf), and the west coast is quite significant. Most of them are very essential like soybeans and fodders. “If the condition gets worst, it is possible to have a trading blockade. But so far, it is has not happened”, he said. However, Khrisnamurti said looking at the effects of the swine flu, its further impacts will appear sooner.

So far the Indonesian government has only issued restrictions towards pork products and their kinds whose volume reaches 230 thousands per year.  The import restrictions were based on the Decree of the Agriculture Minister and the Trade Minister.

“The Agriculture Minister will issue a list of products allowed to be imported, as well as the ones which are forbidden. Meanwhile, the Trade Minister will issue a Decree on the entrance mechanism the products”, he said. | Umi Kalsum, Agus Dwi Darmawan |