March 25, 2024

 

Head of Indonesia's food agency calls for increased domestic meat production

 

 

Indonesia's National Food Agency (Bapanas) underscored the importance of increasing meat production on a domestic scale, ANTARA reported in mid-March.

 

"...we need to stop meat imports and encourage the increase in domestic meat production," said Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi.

 

Adi attributed the current high price of meat to the imports being carried out on a large scale. He cited as an example that the price of meat in Australia had reached A$8.59 (US$5.64), while the Australian dollar's exchange rate against the rupiah was around Rp10,000 (US$0.64).

 

"If we depend on imports, the consequences are when the foreign exchange rate against the rupiah is high or the price of meat in the country of origin is high, then it will directly affect us," he explained.

 

Meanwhile, Adi ensured that the related ministries and agencies had discussed about meat importation during a technical coordination meeting.

 

"The (price) calculation had many considerations. Recently, in a meeting with Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian and governors and district heads and mayors throughout Indonesia, we said that availability is a priority, then the prices follow," Adi stated.

 

He stressed that the meat import permits are not late.

 

"They are not late, as beef and buffalo meat are now in stock, both in traditional markets and supermarkets," he stated.

 

He noted that Bapanas had completed the commodity balance in December.

- ANTARA