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Indonesia halts beef imports amid India's 'second coronavirus wave'
The government has stopped importing beef from India due to the COVID-19 crisis there, but without an alternative source country, Indonesia may be looking at a meat crisis by May.
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A truck transports live cattle to market in this undated photograph. (JP/Maksum Nur Fauzan)
I
ndonesia has suspended imports of buffalo meat from India as the South Asian country, which ranks second in the world in COVID-19 cases, continues to battle a surge in infections.
The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) made the decision on May 18 in response to the ongoing “second wave” of COVID-19 in India. Bulog said the public health situation might disrupt logistics in that country while raising safety concerns over the imported meat at home.
Bulog was tasked by the government with importing meat from India to meet domestic demand to keep prices stable ahead of Idul Fitri, a peak holiday shopping season that typically causes a spike in demand.
Beef imports from India and other countries also helped compensate for the decline in Australia’s meat and livestock supplies after wildfires and floods devastated the industry.
India has been Indonesia’s second-largest supplier of meat in the past four years after Australia, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
Bulog president director Budi Waseso added that the suspension meant the agency would not reach its beef import target, while its reserves had fallen below the ideal volume for maintaining price stability.
“Due to the lockdown and the surge in COVID-19 cases in India, we have temporarily stopped imports,” Budi said at the House of Representatives last Tuesday.
