The prices had also sky-rocketed in several regions few days before the arrival of the fasting month. Beef prices soared to Rp170 thousand per kg in Aceh, Rp160 thousand per kg in West Kalimantan, Rp120 thousand per kg in Jakarta, and Rp90 thousand per kg in cattle-rearing regions, including East Java.
President Joko Widodo had earlier given directives that commodity prices during the fasting month and its subsequent Ied Fitr, or Lebaran festivities, should not increase. The head of state made it clear that the price of beef should be maintained at Rp80 thousand per kg.
In an attempt to bring down beef prices as suggested by the president, the government is importing beef. It even diverted the commodity, which was earlier imported for food industries, to public consumers.
The deliveries of imported beef have begun arriving in a bid to bring down the increasing prices. PT Impexindo Pratama, one of the companies assigned by the Trade Ministry to import the commodity, has continued to increase the import of beef stocks from Australia.
In a written statement on Wednesday (June 22), PT Impexindo Pratama General Manager Fenny remarked that the company was taking a serious step to increase beef stocks to help the government bring down the beef prices.
It is directly importing beef from Australia to help the government lower the prices to Rp80 thousand per kg, Fenny noted while witnessing the arrival of a beef consignment via an aircraft at the Cargo Terminal of Soekarno-Hatta airport on Wednesday.
Fenny explained that the company had imported 36 tons through means of air transportation to increase beef stocks. It will be directly distributed in the market after being checked by the Customs and Excise and the Animal Quarantine offices.
Deliveries are also being carried out through sea transportation. A total of 16 containers of beef, each weighing 20 tons, are ready to be distributed next week. The company will continue to increase its stocks until the Lebaran holidays.
According to Fenny, the special meat will be sold to consumers at Rp79 thousand per kg and at Rp60 thousand per kg for beef, with high fat. On Wednesday, 20.2 tons of knuckle meat, 5.4 tons of chuck tender, and 345 tons of 84 CL were sold.
Besides the arriving meat, about 8,110 tons of beef imported for catering services, hotels and restaurants were diverted to consumers through market operations in an effort to stabilize the beef prices, Agriculture Minister Arman Sulaiman on Monday (June 20).
The 8,110 tons of beef brought by 10 importers are equal to 47 thousand heads of cattle and will be released into the market in the coming two weeks. The operations commenced on Thursday last week (June 16).
Importers were instructed to allocate their beef to consumers in order to bring down soaring beef prices in the market, Amran said.
To compensate the importers for the 8,110 tons of beef that was allocated to consumers, the government will replace them with a recommendation for them to import another one.
"This is at the discretion of the government. We will replace the beef that is diverted to the public with immediate recommended meat imports," he said. The price of beef sold in the market will be below the governments target of Rp80 thousand per kilo gram (kg), Amran assured.
The government has decided to import up to 10,000 tons of beef to stabilize the price of that commodity in the country. The State-owned Logistics Board (Bulog) said 3,000 tons of beef imported from Australia are expected to enter the market before the Islamic holy day Lebaran celebration in early July.
The 3,000 tons imported from Australia would be part of 10,000 tons to be imported by the government to bring down the price which has soared lately in the country.
Around 2,100 tons already entered the market and the government hopes the supply would reach 3,000 tons until Lebaran, President Director of Bulog of Djarot Kusumayakti said.
He said the rest would follow after Lebaran, Djarot said.
President Jokowi said on Tuesday (June 21) the government will do its best to bring down beef prices by importing the commodity and developing pedigree cattle farming at home.
The government has to continue to do it. "I think we have state-owned companies and private ones. Ten state companies and private firms are working on bringing down prices. Prices will surely come down," Jokowi said.
The beef price target is set at Rp80 thousand per kilogram (kg), and it has been calculated carefully by taking into account the prices in other countries, the president said. The price of beef in other countries could reach Rp55 thousand to Rp60 thousand per kg.
"But it is being reported that state companies and private firms sell it now at Rp70 thousand - Rp80 thousand," Jokowi said.
As the third week of the fasting month of Ramadan begins, the average price of beef on the national scale in the country went down by just 0.4 percent, from Rp115,830 to Rp115,416.22 per kg.
Based on data at the Trade Ministrys Price Monitoring System (SP2KP), the 0.4 percentage decrease was calculated based on the price on June 6 or the first day of the fasting month and the price of beef now (June 22).
However, the average beef price of Rp115,416.22 per kg increased by 2.3 percent when compared with the price two weeks before the fasting month at Rp113,254.01 per kg. (*)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
