"We remain optimistic that self-reliance in meat production can be achieved if it receives supports from all agencies," Director General of Husbandry and Animal Health at the Agriculture Ministry Syukur Iwantoro said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The soaring beef price in the domestic market of late, particularly in Jakarta, has been blamed on stock shortage, lack of supply and dependence on import.

The price hikes happened amid the government`s efforts to boost local breeding and to make its meat self-sufficiency program by 2014 a success.

The Agriculture Ministry has expressed optimism that the country can achieve self-reliance in meat production by 2014 despite the current high meat imports. It argued that the population of cows has always increased every year.

According to Director General of Husbandry and Animal Health at the Agriculture Ministry Syukur Iwantoro, the number of cows across the country reached 15.421 million in 2011 and the number rose to 16.656 million in 2012, he said.

"We remain optimistic that self-reliance in meat production can be achieved if it receives supports from all agencies," he said.

Therefore, the government hoped it would meet 85 percent of its meat need which reached 549 thousand tons per annum. Ranchers should therefore increase the number of their cattle which now reached about 14.8 million cows.

In the meantime, besides supply from domestic sources, beef needs would also be met by imports. For this, importation mechanism would be arranged.

But according to Syukur Iwantoro, the ministry would make a constant effort to increase the population of cows and to reduce beef and live cow imports to up to 10 percent of the overall needs.

To this end, the government hopes it would develop calf breeding to raise young cows that would be bred to increase the number of slaughter cows.

In this case, State-owned Enterprise Dahlan Iskan has proposed to the government the importation of calves to be raised at home, saying that importers should not import beef only and reap big profit.

The government, Dahlan said, should oblige meat importers to also import young cattle to be bred in the country. "We proposed that registered importers should also import calves. They should import productive female cows to be bred in an effort to meet the country`s need for beef," the minister said on Tuesday.

He said that he had officially submitted the proposal to the ministry of agriculture. He made the remarks after chairing a leadership meeting of state-owned enterprise ministry at the building of PT Askes Jakarta.

The minister said that meat importers so far had enjoyed a big profit from the import quota given by the government. "They should not merely seek profit and enjoy high margin of price difference," he said.

Dahlan said the price of meat in Singapore for example was only about Rp45,000 per kg but in Indonesia it was over Rp90,000 per kg. "This price difference benefits them a lot," Minister Dahlan said.

The state-owned company minister said that state-owned plantation firms (PTPN) were now active in raising cows at their plantation areas. Indonesia has the potentials to raise cows in the oil palm plantation areas. After all, Indonesia is still importing some 350,000 cows per annum.

PTPNs are required to breed cattle. PTPN IV can raise10,000 heads of cow, other PTPNs can breed 15,000 cattle, the minister said. This all is expected to meet shortage of supply in the future like what is taking place of late and caused consumers to complain.

Consumers of late have been complaining of the sky-rocketing of beef prices in the country.

Based on data available at the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the beef price in the fourth week of January 2013 was recorded at Rp90,000 (US$9.33) per kg.

This price has been in that level since the first week of December 2012. It was said that the beef price in Indonesia now was the most expensive in the world.

The World Bank recorded that the average beef price per kg in Indonesia in December 2012 was US$9.76 while prices per kg in Malaysia was US$4.3, in Thailand US$4.2, In Australia US$4.2, in Japan US$3.9, in Germany US$4.3 and in India US$7.4.

"Beef price in the market in the last three months has remained high, even it continues to increase. If this continues to take place without efforts to lower it, I am afraid it will reach Rp120 thousand (US$12.45) per kg. This rate is beyond the financial reach of consumers," Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi meanwhile said two weeks ago ( Feb.5).

In the meantime, Chief Economic minister Hatta Rajasa said recently that the government will speed up beef supply to stabilize prices which have been increasing of late. "We will soon stabilize prices by speeding up beef supply," Hatta Rajasa told a press conference at his office.

The chief economic minister said the government through the trade ministry officials would visit slaughter houses to check live cattle and frozen beef supply. Guaranteed availability of supply would help drive down prices, he said.

"There are 400 abattoirs. We can also see the volumes of supply and demand through an online system. Supply to Jakarta and West Java would be accelerated. The supply would be in the form of frozen beef and live cattle," the minister said.

Besides, the importation of beef would be decided through an auction and transparent mechanism which was open to credible but registered importers at the trade ministry.

"The beef import mechanism will be regulated by the agriculture minister," the minister said.

He said that the ministry of agriculture would cooperate with state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api and state-owned shipping firm PT Pelayaran Nusantara Indonesia (Pelni) for the transportation of the cattle from cattle producing regions to Jakarta.

"The agriculture ministry will accelerate the beef supply from the Indonesian eastern region with a special ship and train. Next April, train can transport frozen meat and live cattle from Surabaya (East Java) to Jakarta," he added.(*)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013