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Govt to import 3 million tonnes of milk for free meal program
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said on Monday that he assured these foreign procurements were temporary and the government would make effort to reduce reliance for imports.
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Surakarta mayor and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka (center) talks with residents of Pasar Manggis subdistrict, Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on July 3, 2024. Gibran held blusukan (impromptu visits) to several locations in Jakarta to “know more about the city's problem“ before taking office as the vice president in October. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
T
he government will import 3 million tonnes of milk next year to meet the needs of president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s free meal program, with the Agriculture Ministry defending the move by saying domestic production was not yet able to meet the required supply.
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said on Monday that he assured these foreign procurements were temporary and that the government would reduce its reliance on imports.
“Hopefully, in the course of next five years, we can make a program to reduce our imports,” Amran said, as quoted from Tirto.id.
Currently, Indonesia imports 80 percent of its milk to meet local demand.
Read also: Health group warns of high sugar content in Prabowo’s free milk program
Amran went on to say that the government had been inviting investors from abroad, including one from Vietnam, which he claimed was ready to set up a farm in Indonesia.
Should the plan materialize, he estimated the investor would require 100,000 hectares of land and could produce 1.8 million tonnes of milk per year.
