Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture has introduced Regulation 15/2021, which has a new set of requirements for importing fresh animal products into Indonesia.
The ministry was due to begin enforcing the new regulation from the 1st of January this year. The rules exclude bulk products that require further processing. Products affected by the change include milk, meat, eggs, and honey.
Importers must register their products through an online portal, for which there is a fee, and they must provide proof of product through a series of documents. Included is a recommendation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Certificates of Origin, Analysis, and Sanitary Export, as well as a copy of the product's Halal Certificate. Finally, the product must adhere to Indonesia’s labelling requirements.
This process must be completed for each product exported from New Zealand to Indonesia. While registration is valid for five years, the Certificate of Analysis is required every six months, as it displays the specifications of each product. However, the Certificate of Analysis must be issued through a recognised and accredited laboratory in the country of origin, with a copy of the related costs.
These requirements are just an addition to the rules of the existing regulations where exporters must apply for yearly import licenses from relevant Indonesian industries, following their application to be part of the Indonesian system.
The Commodity Balance Mechanisms regulations are currently being implemented and are designed to create a single portal from which importers can apply for import licenses. Before establishing the single application portal, import licenses required permissions granted through the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture. The implementation of this new system will come under the umbrella of the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs (Kemenko Ekon).
However, some New Zealand importers are still waiting for a response two months following their application for registration, despite the new regulation's intention of simplifying the application process. Updates on implementing the Commodity Balance Mechanisms regulations are available through the New Zealand embassy in Jakarta, which closely monitors the situation.
