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RI considers importing beef from Argentina
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said there were three requirements meat and livestock exporters needed to meet — the commodity must be free from disease, meet the halal requirements and be sold at a competitive price.
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Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
T
he government is considering importing beef from Argentina to reduce the country’s dependency on traditional suppliers like Australia and New Zealand, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has said.
“We are looking at countries that export meat so there is healthy competition that will benefit the people [as customers],” Amran said in Jakarta on Wednesday after meeting with Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti as quoted by kontan.co.id.
He said there were three requirements meat and livestock exporters needed to meet — the commodity must be free from disease, meet the halal requirements and be sold at a competitive price.
Amran admitted that Indonesia was heavily dependent on Australia to meet the domestic demand for meat. He said Argentina claimed it could supply meat at a cheaper price, namely US$3 per kilogram for medium grade meat, free on board (FOB).
Agriculture Ministry Livestock and Animal Health Director General I Ketut Diarmita said before Indonesia decided to import beef from Argentina, the government needed to ensure the meat met the domestic requirements.
He said meat could be important from Argentina soon, as long as both countries had a mutual commitment to boosting bilateral trade.
Indonesia has also offered to export several agricultural commodities, including mangosteens, bananas, pineapple, salak, coffee and pepper as well as edible bird nests.
Trade between Indonesia and Argentina was recorded at US$1.68 billion in 2018, a 17.96 percent increase from 2017. (bbn)
