South Kalimantan Quarantine Disrupts 407 Illegal Orchid and Aglaonema Buds from Surabaya at Trisakti Port

BANJARMASIN - The South Kalimantan Provincial Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Office thwarted the entry of 407 illegal ornamental plant seedlings from Surabaya which entered through the Trisakti Banjarmasin Port.

This action is carried out to prevent the spread of pests and plant diseases that have the potential to harm the regional horticulture sector.

Head of the South Kalimantan Quarantine, Erwin A. M. Dabukke, said that the secured commodities consisted of 256 seedlings of dendrobium type orchids and 151 seedlings of aglaonema.

All of the seedlings are not equipped with Plant Health Certificates (KT-3), which is a mandatory requirement in the inter-regional carrier media traffic.

"This action is part of strict supervision of the import of agricultural commodities so that all carriers that enter meet the quarantine provisions," he said in Banjarmasin, Antara, Wednesday, April 15.

According to Article 35 of Law Number 21 of 2019 concerning Animal, Fish, and Plant Quarantine, every entry of commodities into an area must be accompanied by a health certificate as a guarantee of freedom from pests and diseases.

This case was revealed when officers carried out routine surveillance of a ship docked at Trisakti Port. During the inspection, hundreds of plant seeds without official documents were found in one of the transport trucks.

The officers then immediately made an arrest for further investigation.

Erwin emphasized that based on Article 16 of the same law, quarantine officers have the authority to detain, reject, and destroy commodities that do not meet administrative and technical requirements.

According to him, the income from plant seeds without official documents is at risk of bringing Quarantine Plant Pest Organisms (OPTK) which can threaten ornamental plant businesses, harm farmers, and trigger economic losses in South Kalimantan.

Because the commodity owners were cooperative, all the seeds were eventually returned to their original areas according to the applicable procedures.

"We ensure that supervision at the entrance will continue to be tightened through thorough document and physical inspections to maintain biological security," said Erwin.