June 6, 2011

 

Australian cattle export prohibition to affect Indonesia

 

 

An Australian prohibition on shipping cattle to feedlots in Indonesia would cause the archipelago to deplete its reserves of livestock, an industry association chief warned on Sunday (Jun 5).

 

"Local cattle will be depleted," Joni Liano, executive director of the Indonesian Meat Producers and Feedlot Association (Apfindo), said on Sunday. Abattoirs will be forced to slaughter cattle before they could reach the ideal weight of 450 kilogrammes, he said.

 

Agriculture Minister Suswono tried on Friday (Jun 3) to play down reports that Australia would stop shipping cattle to Indonesia following public outrage in Australia over the treatment of animals in slaughterhouses.

 

"We are not concerned with the threat of Australia to stop its cow exports to Indonesia because we can import the cattle from other countries," Suswono said.

 

The Australian media showed footage of animals that were kicked and beaten, their eyes gouged, tails broken and throats hacked at with dull knives last week. The footage sparked outrage in Australia and demands to halt livestock exports to Indonesia.

 

Meat producers have expressed concern that beef prices in Indonesia would soar should Australia halt its shipments. Twelve Indonesian abattoirs have been banned from slaughtering Australian cattle due to alleged violations of animal welfare.

 

Despite the outcry, Suswono said he was not worried.

 

"We believe Australia still needs the Indonesian market because Indonesia has been a destination country for cattle exports," he said.

 

It was Australia's right to judge whether there was cruelty committed against cows at Indonesian abattoirs and whether it would stop its exports here, the minister said. He added that he supported the Australian government's desire to provide assistance to Indonesia's abattoir revitalisation programme.
 

Media reports have emerged that Australia does not plan to stop livestock exports to Indonesia other than the 12 blacklisted abattoirs, who will receive extra instruction from the Agriculture Ministry, Apfindo, the Indonesian Council of Ulema and Meat & Livestock Australia.

 

Agriculture Ministry livestock department chief, Prabowo Respatiyo Caturroso, said the exports would continue.

 

In a bid to achieve self-sufficiency in beef, the government has set a goal of reducing cattle imports to 10% of total demand and increasing the local cattle population, which stands at 12.6 million. Last year, local cattle met just 57% of demand.

 

Live cattle imports will account for 23% of Indonesia's demand for 506,000 tonnes of beef this year, Joni said. Local cattle will contribute 62% while the remaining 13% will come from other imports.

 

To fulfill the 62% quota this year, Indonesia needs 1.7 million head of cattle, Joni said. If Australia goes through with the ban, he said he doubted Indonesia would be able to satisfy demand on its own.

 

Indonesian feedlots are used because operational costs are lower than in Australia. Animals are usually fattened for about two months before being slaughtered. Joni said Australian breeders also stood to lose because of the ban as fattening one cow there costs AUD0.20 (US$ 0.21) more per kilogramme than in Indonesia.

 

Suswono called on meat producers and feedlot operators to prioritise domestically bred cattle.

 

"I have received a letter from the East Java governor asking for the halt of cow imports because the imported cows caused the prices of locally bred cows to fall," the minister said.