The import is expected to keep the national selling price of buffalo meat below the highest retail price (HET) of Rp80 thousand (US$4.74).
"We will gradually import frozen buffalo meat from India and work with the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out negotiations between governments," Wijayanto stated on Thursday.
According to the president director, the rising price of buffalo meat in India currently necessitates negotiations with producers in India to secure the best possible price for Indonesia.
He remarked that the imports are intended to not only meet the demand during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr but also to fulfill the daily national needs.
Wijayanto ensured that the current demand for buffalo meat is met at around nine to 10 thousand tons. However, his side is also targeting to distribute 19 thousand tons of frozen buffalo meat during Ramadan.
"I am sure that the need for this Eid stock is sufficient. People do not need to worry about beef and buffalo meat stock," he remarked.
Earlier, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) noted that the high price of buffalo meat in the country was allegedly due to the increasing costs from Indian distributors and the impact of the US dollar exchange rate.
Head of Bapanas Arief Prasetyo Adi stated that the price of buffalo meat from Indian vendors is currently set between US$3.8 and US$3.9 per kilogram, which is higher than the previous price of US$3 per kilogram.
"For now, the price is around US$3.8-3.9 per kilogram in India. We have to re-calculate and start looking for new vendors," he remarked last week.
In addition to the increasing price, the current rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar is around Rp16,300 per US dollar. This indirectly also affects the price of buffalo meat purchased by distributors, Adi pointed out.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia G P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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