East Timor Causes Reduced Cotton Imports From Australia

Sept. 27, 1999 -- Indonesian textile producers will reduce cotton imports from Australia because of worsening relations over the conflict in East Timor according to a senior industry official in an AP article. Australia's leading role in the multinational intervention in East Timor has caused trade between Australia and Indonesia to come under fire in recent weeks.

The Indonesian Textile Association says its members imported 206,344 metric tons of cotton worth $339 million from Australia in 1998, giving Australia 45 percent market share, according to the AP article.

"We can buy from other countries,'' Irwandi, the association's secretary-general, told Dow Jones Newswires. Those imports may come from China and West Africa, says Irwandi, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians. Trade and Industry Minister Rahardi Ramelan says the Indonesian government would help importers reduce their imports of Australian products.

"We will help them find goods that used to be imported from Australia,'' he told reporters.

He said the government, however, hasn't decided to sever trade relations with Australia.

"We will let (business people) decide what the best for them is,'' he says.