“Feeder cattle need four months to fatten and be ready for slaughter. Thus, some should arrive here by the end of February and some at the beginning of March,” Agriculture Ministry director general of livestock and animal health, I Ketut Diarmita, said on Monday.

Last year, the price of beef almost doubled from its normal level during the Ramadhan fasting month, due to the late issuance of import permits.

The government in response allowed importers to release 5,000 tons of stored industrial beef ahead of schedule and imported buffalo meat from India in an effort to stabilize prices.

This year, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, will see the beginning of Ramadhan in late May. The Idul Fitri celebration will fall in June.

Ketut said the government had recently issued import recommendations for 155,950 heads of cattle — equating to 31,190 tons of beef — from Australia and expected the animals to arrive in the next two months. The government expects to keep the fresh beef price below Rp 120,000 (US$8.9) per kilogram.

Government data show that the country will need around 209,500 tons of beef and buffalo meat for the festivities, 81,705 tons or 39 percent of which will come from imports and the remainder from local production.

Some 20,000 heads of cattle are expected to come from Mexico — brought into the country by PT Sumatera Mexindo Bersama and PT Kurnia Intan Sejahtera in late February as well as another 30,000 tons of frozen buffalo meat from India to fill the gap.

Ketut said there was no sanction for late delivery so far but that the government was open for more import applications should stocks prove insufficient.

The Indonesian Meat Producers and Feedlot Association (Apfindo) was not immediately available for comment but has pointed out previously that the government now has an online system to ensure sufficient imports to meet national demand.

“Trough the INATRADE [online platform], the Trade Ministry can track the delivery of cattle in real-time,” Apfindo executive director Joni Liano said recently.

On-time delivery is seen as critical to prevent prices from surging like they did last year.

“We need to make sure stocks are sufficient to prevent a price surge. It will be hard to bring the price down once it hikes,” Trade Minister Enggartiasto “Enggar” Lukita noted recently, adding that he expected 700,000 heads of feeder cattle to be imported this year.

Indonesia is still dependent on beef and cattle imports due to an insufficient livestock population. In 2013, the population amounted to 12.3 million heads only, far from the 42 million heads needed to reach self-sufficiency, targeted for 2021, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data show.

To increase the cattle population, the government has launched various programs and policies, including ratio-based imports and an insemination program.

Since late 2016, big importers need to import one breeder for every five feeder cattle and cooperatives one breeder for every 10 feeders. The state will audit compliance with those rules in December 2018.

The government’s latest moves include cooperation with penitentiaries on Nusakambangan Island. The Law and Human Rights Ministry will soon open a tender for private firms to jointly develop a husbandry and feed mills business to breed up to 14,000 heads of cattle starting next year.

Popular

To my horror, it’s just a movie!

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Pentagon chief congratulates Prabowo on being elected President