May 28, 2004

Indonesia's ASPIDI Urges Government To Revoke Ban On US Beef Imports

The Association of Indonesian Beef Importers (Aspidi) has urged the government to revoke its ban on US beef imports in order to normalize the commodity's price.

Aspidi Chairman Thomas Sembiring said here Thursday that Indonesian importers had so far been importing beef from Australia and New Zealand, but at prices that were 25 to 50 percent higher than the normal international market price.

"This has been happening because, after stopping US beef imports over fears for mad-cow disease, Indonesia became dependent on beef from Australia and New Zealand," Thomas said.