JAKARTA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has asked the European Commission to reduce import duty on Indonesian tuna and lift metal test on the marine food, a senior official at the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry said here Friday.

    Director for Marketing of the ministry Saut P. Hutagalung said that the ministry had requested the commission to lower the tariffs to 5 percent from 14.5 percent for fresh tuna and 24 percent for canned tuna, which was similar with duties on tuna from Thailand and the Philippines.

    The current tariffs for Indonesian tuna was considered too high compared to the zero duties for countries of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), and Sri Lanka, which hinder Indonesian products' competitive edge, said Hutabarat.

    "We demand the commission to cut the tariff gradually to 5 percent or even to zero," he told Xinhua over phone.

    On the test for metal content, the director said that the results on Indonesia's tuna products recently have showed it was significantly low.

    "So they should lift the test," he said.

    Responding on the Indonesia's requests, the commission and Indonesia had set up a task force, comprising officials and businessmen from Indonesia and Europe member countries, this year to tackle the issue.

    Indonesian tuna exports to European Union in 2008 reached 12,879 tons, according to the ministry.