July 1, 2011

 

Indonesia to delay cattle import permits

 

 

Indonesia will delay the granting of new import permits for Australian cattle, as negotiations continue in an attempt to resolve the ban on live exports.

 

The permits, once issued, are expected to be increased to make up for a shortfall in the number of cattle imported from Australia in the first six months of the year, according to Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture.

 

Live cattle import permits for the next three months had not been issued, and would be delayed because of the ban on exports from Australia.

 

The current tranche of permits, which are issued every three months, expired on Thursday.

 

But in a positive sign for Australian cattle producers, Jakarta would be unlikely to issue more import permits to other countries for the next quarter.

 

Indonesia does source a small amount of live cattle from other countries, but the number had "already been fixed".

 

Joni Liano, from the Indonesian Meat Importers' Association, confirmed on Thursday (Jun 30) that import permits for the next three months had not yet been issued.

 

"I guess the government is waiting for the suspension to be lifted," Liano said.

 

While Australia and Indonesia have agreed on a framework for animal welfare standards, teams from both countries are still working through technical details.

 

Once the agreement is signed, a joint team of vets from both countries will inspect Indonesian abattoirs, after which trade can then resume.

 

Indonesia took 520,000 head of cattle last year but announced in March that imports in 2011 would be limited to 500,000.

 

Because of a massive shortfall in the number of cattle actually imported over the first six months, the number of permits for the next three months are expected to be more than double the quarterly average of 125,000.

 

The Agriculture Ministry official said a request for 270,000 permits would be put to the Livestock Director-General before being sent to Agriculture Minister Suswono for approval.

 

Liano said there was enough stock in Indonesia to last until the end of August.

 

"After that, I really don't know. I guess a lot of farmers will have their barn empty after fasting month (August) if this issue hasn't been resolved."