Jakarta, Oct 7 (Antara) - The government will import 100 thousand tons of buffalo meat in an effort to help stabilize the meat prices since beef is still being sold at a relatively high price of Rp100 thousand per kilogram (kg).
Buffalo meat is being imported as it is relatively cheaper at about Rp65 thousand per kg, even though some consumers in Asia, including in Indonesia, do not particularly have a taste for it. As a result, a few negative voices were being heard from among the traders as well as consumers against this plan.
However, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said the government will continue its plan to import buffalo meat from India to meet the people's need for meat in view of the high prices of beef at home.
"We will continue importing the commodity as long as consumers need it," Minister Amran stated on the sidelines of an exhibition on food and domestically produced goods that opened at Mandala Kredia Square, Yoyakarta, on Thursday (Oct 6).
According to detikFood¿s online publication recently, the nutritional content of beef and buffalo meat does differ.
A 100 gram of buffalo meat contains 79 kilo calories (Kcal), 18.7 gram protein, 0.5 gram fat, 14 milligram calcium and 3.3 milligram iron. At the same time, a 100 gram of beef contains 201 Kcal, 18.8 gram protein, 14 gram fat, 11 milligram calcium and 2.8 milligram iron. So, beef contains higher calories and fat as compared to buffalo meat.
Yet, buffalo meat will be imported since the need for meat has to be met. The government plans to import it from India to suppress commodity prices and fulfill animal protein requirements of the community. After all, next year the need for meat will increase in the face of the fasting month of Ramadan and Eid 2017 festivities.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution, who chaired a meeting on stabilization of prices and availability of food last month (Sept 13), disclosed that the government would import up to 100 thousand tons of buffalo meat, and an import permit for it will be granted. It will remain valid till June 2017.
"We are targeting the import of 100 thousand tons of meat. A total of 70 thousand tons would be imported by the end of December 2016, and the remaining 30 thousand tons will be imported in preparation for fasting and Idul Fitri," Darmin added.
Regarding the plan to import 70 thousand tons of buffalo meat by the end of December 2016, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman pointed out that the government will ensure that priority is accorded to ensuring availability of meat protein.
"The need for meat, especially in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek), will be met. The point is how to make the protein available to people. We need to remember that we only have 2.5 kilograms of meat consumption per head per year, while the figure for neighboring countries is already touching 25 kilograms per year," said Amran.
Thus, the government will keep in the mind the interests of the local breeders who should be consistently protected while procuring buffalo meat.
With that in mind, the distribution of the imported buffalo meat will be restricted to consumers in Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi only. Depok, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi are satellite towns of the capital city of Jakarta and are often referred to as the Jabodetabek areas.
"Besides, we are also providing breeders with artificial insemination facility to expedite the production," noted Minister Amran.
He underlined that the price of imported buffalo meat in Indonesia's domestic market is about Rp65 thousand per kg, the same as in Malaysia. "The price of imported buffalo meat in Indonesia (and Malaysia) is the same, hovering at about Rp65 thousand per kg," he informed.
In a bid to speed up beef self-reliance, the Ministry of Agriculture will provide free of charge four million artificial insemination kits to breeders across the country.
Indonesia still needs to import one million heads of cows this year to meet its domestic need for beef. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade require importers to include heifers in their imports of feedlot cattle.
"We hope that some 20 percent of the 700 thousand imported feedlot cattle are heifers," stressed Amran.
Meanwhile, the President Director of the National Logistics Agency (Bulog), Djarot Kusumayakti, said buffalo meat is currently priced at Rp60,000 per kilogram at the retail level and Rp65 thousand per kilogram at the consumer level.
"We undertake direct sales to keep prices stable, and most of the market can accept buffalo meat as is. Even, some `sanitary and phytosanitary" (SPS) meat cannot be served because it is still being processed. Some meat is still undergoing the quarantine process, and has already qualified for a direct release," Djarot commented.
Until last month, 5,300 tons of buffalo meat had been imported, of which 1,400 tons were checked through quarantine method and 1,500 tons escaped SPS requirements.
While around 2,000 tons may be at the port, the rest is in storage facilities and still undergoing a quarantine verification process.
The meat imports are expected to reduce the prices of fresh beef, which is expected to enter the territory at a more reasonable price.
Hopefully, people can obtain a healthy alternative to meat at the same price because Bulog sells meat at Rp65,000 per kilogram to consumers, which means it sells to traders for even less because they too need to earn their share of profit.***3***
(A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 07-10-2016 23:39:5 |
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