November 5, 2007

 

India offers buffalo meat to Indonesia

 

 

As Indonesia imports most of its beef from Australia and New Zealand, which are both known to produce high-quality beef, the meat can only be bought by affluent buyers.

 

This problem has pushed India to supply its less expensive buffalo meat to Indonesia. 

 

India currently supplies meat from areas free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to 67 countries, including Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and several Middle Eastern countries.

 

However, it seems existing laws in Indonesia may not make it possible for the country's poor to benefit from the import of inexpensive buffalo meat.

 

According to Thomas Sembiring, chairman of the Indonesian Meat Importers Association, Indonesia's regulations do not permit the country to do meat trade with India as some of it still contaminated with foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD).

 

FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that infects cattle. It cannot be transmitted from cattle to humans.

 

India is yet to be recognized as a FMD-free country by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), an intergovernmental organization working to improve animal health worldwide. The disease is still considered to be present in some areas of the country.

 

But the OIE's new zoning system has cleared India's 54 districts of FMD and buffalo meat from these districts has been exported to countries all over the world.

 

However, Thomas said Indonesia does not recognize the zoning system, thus the ban on India's meat.

 

He also said imported meat being sold at low prices could affect the welfare of local farmers.

 

He added Indonesia can't afford to have an FMD outbreak as it would be very difficult to eradicate the disease.

 

However, meat exporters from India have assured Indonesian importers they will not export live cattle or infected meat to the country.

 

Several other countries, including Argentina and Romania, have also shown interest in exporting meat to Indonesia.

 

Rajmohan, who works for Indian meat processor Eke Group said it was unfortunate a large number of Indonesian people rarely got the chance to eat meat due to its high price.

 

He said that low-priced meat from India would offer these people the alternative to eat meat regularly.

 

After meeting with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health, Rajmohan said his team would try to convince the agriculture minister to recognize FMD-free zones in India.