JAKARTA The Indonesian Parliament has thrown its weight behind a government ban on the import of Argentine corn in a bid to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a report said Tuesday.

The support came on Monday after customs authorities at the city's Tanjung Priok Harbor earlier this month forbade a ship carrying corn from Argentina to approach the harbor and unload its cargo for fear that it carried the disease.

"The Agriculture Ministry should not hesitate to ban the import of corn. Neither should it bow to importers who only pursue business profit at the expense of the people's interest," said MP Bambang Suprapto from the House Commission on Agriculture and Horticulture, AFP quoted the Antara news agency as saying.