October 14, 2008

 

 

The government's intention in importing Brazilian beef is unlikely to happen in the near future. The results of a study by the Independent Risk Analysis Team made public last week concluded that Indonesia does not have the required facilities and infrastructure to detect and prevent potential mouth and nail (PMK) diseases in cattle.

 

The team's summary report read out at a meeting led by Veterinarian Community Health director of the Livestock directorate general, Turni Rusli Syamsudin said diagnostic laboratory to detect these viruses with adequate technical capacity is still unavailable.

 

The nearest laboratory is located in Thailand and it takes four days to get any confirmation when such a clinical case occurs in Indonesia.

 

The study also said that the animal health system in the country is still under equipped and there are no clear guidelines to prevent and eradicate the diseases. Moreover, there is no emergency fund if the mouth, hoof and nail plague ever hits the country.

 

Indonesian Veterinarian Watch secretary Tjiptardjo said as long as the requirements are not met, there should not be talks about importing beef.

 

Indonesians need about 350.000-400.000 tonnes of beef or 1.7-2 million head of cattle, 30 percent of which is imported from Australia, New Zealand and the US. The import to these countries refers to the Agriculture Ministerial Decree no. 754/1992 on Imported Cattle Product Imports from PMK-contaminated countries applying a country-based policy.

 

But in order to acquire the needed supply of beef at cheaper prices, the government sought another source. Brazil was one alternative, a country with an excess in cattle production. The problem is that the country is not yet free from the PMK diseases.

 

The rejection to the government's plan to import Brazilian beef emerged at the team's meeting with related associations. According to Thomas Sembiring, chairman of Indonesian Beef Importers Association, based on points 6 and 7 of the report by the Independent Analysis Team, the government is not ready to handle such a condition. He told Tempo they will not take the risk when 68 other countries are free from the disease.

 

 

In fact, he said, Brazilian beef costs more than Australian beef. The data as of Thursday, 25 September 2008 said that Australian beef is below US$ 4 per kilogram, while beef from Brazilian costs US$ 4.8.

 

Point six of the report by the Independent Analysis Team recommended several sanitary measures to be carried out in Brazil and in Indonesia, like restricting import items to only boneless beef, frozen beef, prioritizing the selection of free-PMK zone without vaccination, transferring the cattle immediately to abattoirs and strict examination by veterinarians.

 

Turni stressed that the report by the Independent Analysis Team will show how much risk is involved if the country imports Brazilian, unvaccinated beef. He also told Tempo the government should not make any decisions yet.