The burden of informal payments at Indonesian ports

Without a comprehensive research, it's just too easy to conclude that informal payments at Indonesian ports are huge enough to make the country the costliest in the world when it comes to shipping in or out goods.

I've experienced that last year when I shipped in personal effects (mainly used books and household stuffs) from Berkeley, USA. I found the shipping cost from San Francisco to Tanjung Priok (Jakarta's main port) was US$475 while the cost to get the stuffs out of the port was US$550.

Transportation minister Hatta Radjasa admitted the cost at Indonesian ports are the highest in the world. But what's the government to reduce the cost is even more important.

May be government should start with this simple adjustment of documentation fee. For March 2006, documentation fee per bill of lading (B/L) in Indonesian ports is US$40, way above Cambodia (US$15), China (US$15), Singapore (US$30), or Philippine (US$30).

Even though government claimed the terminal handling charge (THC) had been cut to US$75 per 20 feet container since November last year, some shipping companies still quotes US$150 for April 2006 arrival. Shipping agents also quotes US$230 per 40 feet container in Jakarta, way above US$190 in China.

Why? Because we never serious in tackling the informal payments. This is not the burden for exporters but the economy as a whole.

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