"By using the national security excuse, we can restrict influx of agricultural and horticultural product imports," the minister said here on Friday.
Indonesia`s local fruits are adequate to meet the domestic demands, he said.
"The volume of imported fruits entering Indonesia is just around 10 percent of the country`s fruit production," he stated.
The local fruit production increased by 18.23 percent to more than 18 million tons in 2011, he said.
"To export mangosteen to Australia, for example, it takes six years because they demand strict food security factor of the imported fruits. We will impose a similar policy to protect our agricultural products from import influx in this free market era," he said.
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
