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NTT breeders ready to ship thousands of head of cattle to Jakarta
Ahead of Idul Fitri, breeders in East Nusa Tenggara are ready to ship 10,000 head of cattle to Jakarta to meet demand and keep beef prices steady for the annual festivities.
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In high demand – Workers tie up cattle on board the KM Camara Nusantara I, which departed for Jakarta from Tenau Port in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday (thejakartapost.com/Djemi Amnifu)
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head of Idul Fitri, breeders in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) are ready to ship 10,000 head of cattle to Jakarta to meet demand and keep beef prices steady for the annual festivities.
One trader will deliver 2,000 head of cattle this month.
“For this month alone, we have prepared 2,000 head of cattle to be delivered to Jakarta. In the previous month, we only sent only 600 to 700 head of cattle, but this month we will send 2,000. It has been ordered from Jakarta,” commodity firm PT Bumi Tirta operational manager Buce Frans told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday
Buce said his company had shipped 150 head of cattle to Jakarta on board KM Camara Nusantara I on Tuesday after shipping 100 head of cattle to Jakarta on a cargo vessel on June 1.
Buce said that next Monday, Bumi Tirta would send 100 more head of cattle to Jakarta on board a cargo vessel. “Entering Ramadhan, the demand for cattle from Jakarta is quite high. The high demand is not accompanied by increases in retail prices, however,” he said.
Buce said Bumi Tirta would continue to ship cattle until the quota of 2,000 head of cattle ordered by its buyers in Jakarta was fulfilled.
He said beef sold for Rp 38,000 (US$2.87) to Rp 40,000 per kilogram so that one cow was worth Rp 9 million to Rp 10 million.
Buce refused to comment on a recent statement by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who said the retail price of beef should be lowered to Rp 80,000 per kg. “Economic rules are still taking effect, thus it is quite difficult for beef prices to drop as requested by the President,” he said.
However, Buce praised Jokowi’s initiative to dispatch the KM Camara Nusantara I, which he said was helpful in easing the burden to transport cattle from East Nusa Tenggara. Moreover, the cattle was insured and a veterinarian was on board to check the cattle’s health during the voyage to Jakarta.
East Nusa Tenggara Animal Husbandry Agency head Dany Suhadi said the KM Camara Nusantara I transported 500 head of cattle from Kupang to Jakarta on Tuesday.
He said that entering Ramadhan, demand for beef from East Nusa Tenggara was high, increasing by 100 percent from previous months.
“However, our businesspeople have an adequate stock of cattle, so I’m certain orders can be met despite the high demand. So there is no problem,” said Dany.
He further said beef price in areas outside East Nusa Tenggara had skyrocketed to Rp 120,000 to Rp 130,000 per kg, but in Kupang beef prices remained stable. In Kupang, beef sells for Rp 80,000 to Rp 85,000 per kg.
Dany said the Oeba slaughterhouse slaughtered 70-80 head of cattle per day to meet beef demand in Kupang and surrounding areas. “Beef prices in Kupang are normal compared to in other areas,” he said.
Despite growing demand over the past week, beef prices in local markets across Kupang were normal, vendors said.
“The beef price remains stable at Rp 80,000 per kg. Yes, consumer demand in the past week has been quite high. Maybe this is because we have entered Ramadhan,” said Simon Huki, a beef vendor at Kasih Market, Kupang, on Tuesday.
Simon predicted that beef prices would continue to increase until Idul Fitri. If the government carried out market operations, he said, the prices of basic commodities, including, meat could be kept low.
“If there is a price increase due to higher demand, it should be only about Rp 5,000 per kg,” said Simon. (ebf)
