Trade Minister Urged to Visit Makassar Rattan Center
Friday, 25 November, 2011 | 12:59 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Ambar Tjahyono, Chairman of the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association (Asmindo), has urged Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan to visit rattan industry centers outside Java to obtain input from those industries over their raised objections on the regulation banning rattan exports.

“The minister cannot assess the rattan issue based on Cirebon area alone. Cirebon does not represent [rattan industries across] Indonesia,” said Ambar, contacted on Thursday. The Minister's possible visit, Ambar said, to rattan industry centers outside Java is intended as a way to those in the rattan business in the upstream and downstream sectors to convey their aspirations.

Based on Ambar’s discussion with Minister Gita Wirjawan on Monday, the chairman said that the government has agreed upon visiting rattan centers in Kalimantan next week. Earlier, Gita said that Asmindo has also proposed to not only implement raw material export tightening on rattan industries but also on logging industries as one of the elements in furniture production.

FEBRIANA FIRDAUS