October 14, 2014

 

New law allows Indonesia to import beef, cattle from more sources

 

 

Indonesia has passed a new law allowing the importation of beef and live cattle from more sources.

 

The newly passed Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Law permits the import of heifers and feedlot cattle from more countries with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free zones, such as India and Brazil, under specific conditions.

 

It replaces the law passed in 2009 which allowed live cattle and meat imports only from countries declared FMD-free by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). In effect, the previous law limited imports only from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

 

While the law helps government keep meat prices in check, domestic breeders question the new legislation saying it contravenes Indonesia's self-sufficiency goals.

 

Rochadi Tawaf, secretary-general of the Indonesian Cow and Buffalo Breeders Association (PPSKI), says the government should instead focus on developing the local breeding industry and improve domestic production.

 

"Why doesn't the government further endorse successful programmes, such as breeding cattle in palm oil plantations? Why doesn't it help local breeders gain better access to financing?" Tawaf said.

 

The secretary-general is also concerned about possible disease outbreaks as a result of the new import arrangement, which uses a zone-based approach.

 

Indonesia's Deputy Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan played down these concerns, insisting that the government was still aiming for self-sufficiency and would restrict imports from FMD-free zones under extraordinary conditions.

 

Cattle imports from FMD-zones would be quarantined on isolated islands for a period of time before being allowed into the distribution network, he said.

 

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said that with new import sources, domestic meat prices are expected to drop.

 

The new policy, according to him, would allow wider import-price choices, depending on their markets' specific needs.

 

Lutfi said that small and medium-sized businesses could use meat from India and Pakistan, whose prices are one third lower than the premium beef used in top restaurants and popular hotel chains.

 

Indonesia had earlier targeted to become self-sufficient in certain food commodities, including beef, by the end of 2014.

 

Unfortunately, local cattle and beef productions were not syncing well with rising demand which was driven by Indonesia's economic boom.

 

Rising beef prices, in the end, prompted the government to scrap the import quota in 2013.