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Frustrated by a lack of consistency in the application of
export rules, 17 companies grouped in the Riau Granite Miners
Association (APGR) are seeking the support of the Trade Ministry to
have their grievances resolved.
At least 20 barges carrying up to 3,000 tons of granite from the Riau
islands to Singapore have been detained following the banning of sand
exports to the neighboring country in early February.
The barges were detained by the Navy for allegedly smuggling sand
concealed under the granite.
According to the Navy, the 20 barges were also guilty of violating
maritime regulations, such as failing to produce vessel and crew
documents.
APGR member Muchamad Syafei said Thursday in Jakarta that the
allegations that the barges were carrying sand were clearly unfounded.
"It wasn't sand. It was the dust and particles from the crushed
granite. There is a clear difference between sand and granite dust.
Even the granite export surveyor said so before the barges set out from
port," Syafei told The Jakarta Post.
The government banned the export of sand to Singapore early in
February, ostensibly to halt the massive environmental damage being
inflicted by sand mining on many islets located near the country's
maritime boundary with Singapore.
But critics say that the ban was, in reality, imposed so as to put
pressure on the city state to sign an extradition treaty.
The Indonesian government has long been demanding that the Singapore
government sign an extradition treaty in order to allow it to bring
back Indonesian white-collar criminals believed to be holed up in the
neighboring country.
"With the detainment of these barges, our businesses have been badly
affected. Each vessel can carry between 2,000 and 3,000 tons of
granite, with two to three round trips to Singapore per day. You can
image how hard it is for us," Syafei said.
When asked about the possibility of suing the Navy given the massive
losses inflicted on the exporters as a result of the detainment of the
barges, Syafei said that some of the association's members were
considering taking legal action.
"The association itself would prefer amicable talks with all sides so
that our opinions can be heard. We are also seeking help from the
Bandung Institute of Technology to prove that the barges contained
granite dust, rather than sand," he said.
As a result of the detainment of the barges, many granite miners have
halted exports, causing the price of granite to almost double to
between $30 and $40 per ton in Singapore from $21 per ton prior to the
start of the Navy action.
After the ban was slapped on sand exports, there were rumors that the
government was also pondering the possibility of prohibiting granite
exports, a step that would further sour ties with neighboring
Singapore, which depends heavily on Indonesian sand and granite for its
construction sector.
However, the Trade Ministry's director general of foreign trade, Diah
Maulida, denied there was any such plan Wednesday after a meeting with
the association. "Granite may still be exported," she said.
Aware of the grievances of the granite exporters, Diah said she had
ordered export surveyors in the ports to report to her on every
verification carried out by them. Granite exports are worth about US$35
million per year, while total Indonesian production amounts to some 10
million tons per year.
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