August 23, 2006

Indonesia urged to allow wider access to its beef market
 

Several countries have pressured Indonesia to change its meat import policy from country to zone- based, Indonesia's Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyanto said in a dialogue with animal husbandry businesses stakeholders

Indonesia's country-based policy allows only Australia and New Zealand to export livestock and meat products to Indonesia, as they have so far been free from foot and mouth disease.

The US, Europe, Argentina and Brazil have expressed their displeasure in the fact that they did not have access to Indonesia, he said.

However, meat traders are said to be unwilling to sell imported meat as it is not as profitable as local meat. Furthermore, its quality is lower than that of local fresh meats.

Since imported meat has been frozen, it does not look as fresh as local meat and are thus less appealing to customers, meat traders said. Sales of local meat can be double that of imported meat, traders said. Most locals still prefer local beef even though they are slightly more expensive.