September 10, 2013

 

 

Indonesia is considering on the importation of productive female cattle (heifers), in an attempt to boost the country's shrinking cattle population.

 

The country's Agriculture Minister Suswono said on September 6 that the government would bring in female cattle to increase local livestock, adding that interested importers could start requesting permits from the Trade Ministry with recommendations from the Agriculture Ministry.

 

Suswono told reporters that they are currently finalising the ministerial regulation for importing female cattle. "We will not limit how many heads of cattle can be imported annually but we will be encouraging importers to bring in heifers," Suswono said.

 

As opposed to two other kinds of live cattle imports, namely feeder cattle and ready-for-slaughter cattle, which are brought in to meet the demand for beef, Syukur Iwantoro, the ministry's director general for animal husbandry, explained that the female cattle was aimed exclusively for breeding to increase the local population.

 

He added that the government was optimistic that many potential importers would be interested in applying to import female cattle, given the low costs involved.

 

"While importers need to spend around US$1,300 to import a feeder cow, they will only need around US$970 to import one heifer," he said.

 

Over the past two years, the local cattle and buffalo population has fallen by 15%, as farmers slaughtered more livestock to compensate for import cuts by the government, according to a Central Statistics Agency (BPS) census.

 

The agency recorded that the live cattle and buffalo population in the country stood at only 14.2 million in May this year, a near 15% decrease from 16.7 million in June 2011.

 

Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association's chairman, Teguh Boediyana, said his association supported the move to open imports on heifers, adding that the government should have made the decision earlier.

 

The widespread slaughtering of cows and heifers in the country caused the cattle population to shrink, as breeders sold their female cattle for meat to benefit from skyrocketing prices, Teguh said.

 

He also said that 300,000 productive female cattle were slaughtered each year, adding that the figure may have sharply increased in the last few months due to beef shortages and surging prices.