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Qatari dairy producer expresses interest in free meal program, ministry says
The agricultural minister says Qatari dairy giant Baladna has expressed interest in supplying milk as well as investing in Indonesia's dairy industry to help support Prabowo's flagship program, which is projected to need 3 million tonnes of imported milk to meet its distribution target next year.
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A student drinks a carton of milk on Aug. 5 during a trial of the free meal program at an elementary school in Tangerang, Banten. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
Q
atari dairy producer Baladna had apparently shown interest in supplying milk for the free nutritious meal (MBG) program under the incoming administration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday.
The matter was raised during a brief meeting between Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Ridwan Hassan at Doha International Airport, where the minister was transiting on a flight to Brazil.
According to the ministry, Amran asked whether Baladna could help Indonesia produce 2 million tonnes of milk per year to help the country reduce imports and achieve milk self-sufficiency by 2029, with the minister saying that the Qatari company was ready to lend support by investing in Indonesian dairy farms.
Read also: No free milk at schools without local supply, minister says
Prabowo’s flagship free meal program aims to provide nutritious food for children and pregnant woman nationwide at an estimated first-year cost of Rp 71 trillion (US$4.5 billion). The program is projected to cost Rp 450 trillion per year upon its nationwide implementation in 2029 through a series of stages over the next five years.
However, domestic dairy farms do not have the capacity to produce enough milk for the ambitious program, which has led to a plan to import the milk.
The agriculture minister said in July that 80 percent of Indonesia’s milk supply was imported to meet local demand, and that the government would need to import 3 million tonnes of milk next year to support the free meal program.
