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o help fulfill the need for livestock for Idul Adha (Islamic day of sacrifice), which will fall on Oct. 5 this year, local suppliers in Riau have brought in 23,000 cows from outside the province, an increase of 2,000 compared to last year'€™s figure.

Riau Animal Husbandry and Health Agency head Zailani Arifsyah said that to date, the province had not yet been able to fulfill its own needs for livestock for the day of sacrifice. Local farmers '€” mostly from Kuantan Singingi regency '€” could only supply 10 percent of the province'€™s total need of 25,000 cows.

'€œTo meet the demand, big suppliers have brought in 23,000 cows from Lampung and South Sumatra provinces. Hopefully this supply will be sufficient,'€ Zailani said recently.

He said supplies from outside the province would help prevent prices from increasing sharply. '€œA price hike is normal. But as long as the supply and distribution is secure, hikes will not be that sharp,'€ he said.

To guarantee consumers'€™ safety, he added, the health of cows from outside the province would be controlled by relevant agencies. Officials would target sellers that traded cows outside of livestock markets.

Both the cows and the beef, Zailani said, would be examined by appointed health teams with the help of health officials from the respective regencies.

'€œIf they find something wrong, they will promptly follow it up so that meat contaminated with diseases will not be consumed,'€ Zailani said.

He also called on traders to be honest and to report matters to the parties concerned if they noticed strange signs among their livestock or if there was any indication of disease.

'€œWe deal with the safety of many people. Besides, Islam also bans sick animals being sacrificed,'€ he said.

Separately, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation'€™s (YLKI) Riau branch chairman, Sukardi Ali Zahar, called on the administration to intervene in the price of cows, as it increases every year.

He said in 2011, a cow was priced at about Rp 7.7 million (US$659), but it was increased to Rp 8.8 million in the following year. This year, prices are predicted to reach over Rp 10 million per cow.

'€œThe price hike is triggered by the control of the market by a few big suppliers that bring in cows from outside the province,'€ said Sukardi.

He added that the administration did not seem to have any intention of intervening in the market, thus allowing traders to dominate price decisions.

The fact that most of the livestock to be sacrificed was brought in from other regions would make it easier for traders to play with market prices, according to Sukardi.

'€œIn this situation, the administration needs to play a role because it is impossible for traders who only have a few cows to control the market price,'€ he said.