Australian Livestock Exporters Council chairman Simon Crean said Brazil and Mexico had a potential to reduce Australia’s domination in the Indonesian beef market. Along with India, Brazil and Mexico offered cheaper beef prices compared to Australian sources. However, he said price was not everything.

“To compete with them, it’s not a big problem for us. Australian products are well received by customers. They are reliable, safe and clean. We have a significant disease-free status that is globally recognized,” Crean said after a meeting with Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita in Jakarta on Monday.

He said what made Australian beef price high was actually not the meat itself but logistics costs, which partially occurred in Indonesia. Citing an example, he further said, the issuance of import permits from Indonesia was often late, causing uncertainties among exporters on when they should rent vessels for cargo deliveries.

“The beef price has not always been related with the cattle price but also the shipping cost. It is high because it often happens that the vessels have to be rented only at the last minute,” Crean said.

Some exporters even are charged a demurrage penalty for failing to load a cattle shipment within the scheduled time frame.

“We are here to seek 'certainty' in the supply chain,” Crean said. (ebf)

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