P

eople would not be able to tell if the meat in a typically heavily spiced Indonesian dish such as rendang or semur was beef or buffalo, so while consumers’ reluctance to buy buffalo meat flies in the face of the government’s marketing efforts, their ignorance may be bliss.

The import of 10,000 tons of buffalo meat from a disease-free zone in India will only hit Greater Jakarta markets later this month, but consumers have already shown reluctance toward using the meat in their dishes. If attitudes do not change, the buffalo meat may end up being mostly consumed by restaurants and industrial meat players.

Although buffalo meat will be sold at Rp 60,000 (US$4.62) per kilogram, almost half the current stubbornly high beef price, it seems that Greater Jakartans will find it difficult to alter their preference for beef.

“I’m not used to buffalo meat and I’ve never tried it. I’ve eaten beef for a long time and I would rather not replace it with anything else,” 39-year-old housewife Dewi Sumarni said after buying meat during her weekly visit to Bulak Market in Klender, East Jakarta, recently.

Dewi said she would rather switch to chicken-based meals if buffalo meat dominated the market.

“Even though I am Betawi [native Jakarta], I dislike buffalo meat,” said Titi, 48, a resident of Penggilingan in East Jakarta. The native Jakartan ethnic group traditionally uses buffalo meat to make semur Betawi, a type of stew.

But consumers’ reluctance may just be due to a lack of familiarity with the meat, State Logistics Agency (Bulog) procurement director Wahyu said.

“Many people were also against frozen beef initially, but it then sold out because Indonesian consumers are rational and will purchase things they can afford instead of being stubborn,” Wahyu told The Jakarta Post.

Wahyu said the buffalo meat would be mainly sold through Rumah Pangan Kita food outlets and private distributors, while the remaining stock would be distributed through special subsidized food outlets. While the outlets sell retail to consumers, private distributors will supply both retail and wholesale to markets, industry, as well as hotels, restaurants, and cafes.

Asep, 26, a vendor at Perumnas Klender Market, who has been selling beef since 2002, said that no one there sold buffalo meat as there was no demand for it. “As far as I know, and for the same reason, no vendors buy or sell buffalo meat,” he added.

The Indonesian Beef Traders Association said members of the industry group, most of whom sell retail in traditional markets, would not sell the imported buffalo meat. “Buffalo meat is more appropriate for horeca (hotels, restaurants, cafes) and industry,” chairman Asnawi said.

Padang food joint owner Rizal Amrizal said there was “no harm” in using buffalo meat as its taste was not very different to beef, and was suitable for the iconic rendang (beef simmered with coconut milk and spices), which was originally made with buffalo meat.

“If consumers prefer beef, then I just don’t have to tell my customers that I use buffalo meat,” he said.

Although some regions in the country use buffalo meat as an ingredient in their dishes, the meat has never been widely consumed in the country, Indonesian culinary expert William Wongso said.

“Only a few regions consume buffalo meat. One example is Kudus, where buffalo meat is used to make traditional dishes such as soto Kudus [soup] and sate Kudus,” William told the Post, adding there has been a customary prohibition on slaughtering cows in the Kudus area since the Hindu era, hence the consumption of buffalo meat.

Apart from Kudus, buffalo meat is also consumed as part of a ritual in West Kutai, East Kalimantan. There is a ceremony in the area in which people spear buffalo and cook their meat as an offering to honor the spirits of their ancestors. (mos)