Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has boycotted five onion import companies, for frauds that have cost the nation trillions of rupiahs. "It is with regret but we have to blacklist the five companies, because they harm our farmers, burden the consumers and cause inflation, eventually resulting in poverty,” said Amran on Friday, June 22.
According to Amran the five companies, identified with initials only as PT TAU, PT SMA, PT KAS, PT FMP and PT JS had committed fraud by importing small onions and sold them as shallots.
Amran said he would revoke the companies' permits and the owners would be barred from applying for another one. The Director of Processing and Marketing of Horticulture Products of the Directorate General of Agriculture, Yasid Taufik, said the onions originated from India. "They entered [Indonesia] from Medan, Jakarta, and Surabaya," he said. "There were 3,600 tons in total.”
According to en.tempo.co, the ministry has filed a case with the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department. The ministry and police are also investigating five other companies for their alleged involvement in similar cases.
