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Businesses question supply viability of Prabowo’s free milk program
The local climate may not be suitable for milk production as cows living in tropical climate countries typically produce less milk than in subtropical regions like Europe or parts of Australia.
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An official of Gunung Kidul Animal Husbandry Agency checks the health of a cow in Gunung Kidul regency, Yogyakarta, in this undated photo. (Antara/Gunung Kidul Animal Husbandry Agency via Instagram)
T
he Indonesian Food and Beverage Producers Association (Gapmmi) has cast doubt over the feasibility of supplying enough milk for president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s planned free milk program.
Gapmmi chairman Adhi S. Lukman pointed out that, realistically, the program could only be fulfilled through milk imports. Currently, Indonesia imports 80 percent of its milk to meet local demand.
“For now, we have to rely on imports while improving upstream production,” Adhi said on Monday, as quoted from Bisnis.com.
Read also: Govt, Prabowo team deny claim about slash in cost of free meals
Some members in the association have been approached to support the program by importing dairy cows, given the insufficient local production capacity, he said.
However, he cautioned that the process was not that straightforward. “It's not as simple as saying we want to add a million farms or a million cows. Who will manage them? Where will they be placed?” Adhi questioned.
Adhi also warned that the local climate may not be suitable for increased milk production as cows in tropical climate countries typically produced less milk than in subtropical regions like Europe or parts of Australia.
