Thomas T. Lembong Minister of Trade
There has been no special treatment

The trade ministry has recently been in the public spotlight. After Berdikari company and the State Bureau of Logistics (Bulog) failed to keep beef prices down, Trade Minister Thomas T. Lembong allowed a number of private trading companies to import beef. He issued state-owned trading company PPI to import 29,500 tons of beef even though it failed to pass muster with the agriculture ministry for failing to obtain a veterinary control number (NKV).

A number of private trading companies that were given the import quotas had little experience in the beef or cattle industry. But Lembong defended his policy by saying the business was open to everyone. "No one was given any special treatment," he told Tempo reporter Ayu Prima Sandi by telephone text message, last week. Replying to additional questions was Foreign Trade Director-General Karyanto Suprih. Excerpts:

June 28, 2016