June 25, 2010

 

Indonesia eyes beef, live cattle import quota
 

 

Indonesia is planning to place an import quota on beef and live cattle imports this year as it tries to boost domestic production and cut imports, a senior agriculture official said Thursday (June 24).

 

Indonesia consumes about 430,000 tonnes of beef annually and imports about 16% of consumption from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It also imports an average 700,000 heads of feeder steer annually, data from the agriculture ministry shows.

 

"We plan to apply an import quota on beef and livestock imports. Hopefully, we can implement it this year," said Tjeppy D. Sudjana, the director general for livestock at the agriculture ministry, without elaborating on what the quota would be.

 

"The ministry is preparing a notification letter to the World Trade Organization to inform it of the planned change in livestock import policy," Sudjana said.

 

Indonesia wants to achieve self-sufficiency in food, including beef, and has targeted production of 546,000 tonnes of beef, from an expected 410,000 tonnes this year.

 

Earlier, import permits issued this year by the government is down on-year as it tries to match its domestic demand with import numbers.

 

There have also been weight restrictions on cattle imports that should be only up to a maximum of 350 kilogrammes.

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