Indonesia pushing early beef imports ahead of Ramadan, will review process for India buffalo meat

Photo: A butcher cuts meat at his stall at a traditional market in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 9, 2015. REUTERS/Nyimas Laula

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s trade ministry will clamp down on meat importers that have met less than 20 percent of their frozen beef quota as the government urges companies to speed up imports ahead of Ramadan that begins around May 25, Oke Nurwan, director general of foreign trade at the ministry of trade, told Salaam Gateway.

“If there is no or low import activity we will deactivate their import limit,” said Nurwan.

According to him, the government allocated a quota of 71,281 tonnes of frozen beef imports for the first three months of 2017. Imports were to come from four countries: Australia (41,510  tonnes), United States (14,006 tonnes), New Zealand (12,765 tonnes), and Canada (3,000 tonnes).

At the end of February imports had only reached 11,404 tonnes, equivalent to 16 percent of the total allocated quota.

Nurwan estimates the domestic demand for beef will reach 30,000 tonnes for Ramadan that starts in less than two months. Anticipating a spike in domestic demand during the fasting month, the government plans to allocate another 10,000 tonnes of imports. They are likely to come from Spain, Mexico, New Zealand or India.

The government currently has 44,800 tonnes stocked in the warehouses of the state-owned food and logistics agency Bulog. 

“We will weigh the situation with meat imports so that we can take the next step to manage the volatility of meat prices during Ramadan,” said Nurwan.

The ceiling price for frozen beef has been set at 80,000 Indonesian rupiah ($6) per kilogram. Last year prices soared beyond 110,000 rupiah during Ramadan and Eid al Fitr.

Fresh beef has a maximum price of 120,000 rupiah ($9) per kilogram.

INDIA BUFFALO MEAT

In 2016 Indonesia started importing cheaper buffalo meat from India to stabilise soaring beef prices as the government struggled to balance the effects of import controls aimed at moving towards beef self-sufficiency.

The ceiling price for buffalo meat is set at 65,000 rupiah ($4.90) per kilogram.

Bulog, the sole licensed importer for India’s buffalo meat, has only brought in 49,000 tonnes out of a total 70,000 additional tonnes agreed on last year, according to Nurwan. Total approved imports was 80,000 tonnes. 

Future imports are in limbo following the Constitutional Court ruling on February 7 to uphold article 36E in the 2014 Animal Health and Husbandry Law, which requires zone-based meat imports from countries prone to foot and mouth disease (FMD) be accepted only during “urgent conditions” but with “maximum security standards.”

India remains prone to FMD but has disease-free zones.

According to Nurwan, Bulog will continue to import the remaining 21,000 tonnes from India.

“After the remaining 21,000 tonnes of meat arrives, the government will revise the mechanism of buffalo meat imports as ruled by the recent national court verdict,” said Nurwan.

Petitioners for a review of the law called for an outright prohibition of zone-based imports from FMD-prone countries, citing protection of the domestic business.

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