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Indonesian Government Looking into Importing Cattle from America and India
Jakarta - Indonesia still relies heavily on cattle import. After suffering a ban from Australia, the government has developed plans to import cattle from the USA, Brazil, Canada, and India.
This statement was released by Agriculture Minister Suswono during a hearing meeting with Commission IV of the Parliament on Thursday (9/6).
Unfortunately, cattle import from those countries is unfeasible due to Act No. 18 year 2009 on animal health. To be able to import, the act must be revised and change the regulations from country base to zone base.
”The country base system has put us in the condition we are facing now, which is dependent on Australia. We are asking the Parliament to revise Act No. 18 year 2009 from country base to zone base,” said Suswono.
Act No. 18 Year 2009 on Animal Husbandry and Health prohibits the import of animals based on zone base to avoid the introduction of animal diseases. Because of that, Indonesia has only imported feeder cattle from Australia and New Zealand, which are both free from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
Suswono argues that Indonesia could shift to the zone base system based on reference from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and after a decision from the Constitutional Court to change the Act.
“If we apply zone base, there are many countries available, starting from Brazil, Canada, India, and America. One of the ways to change that policy is to recommend an amendment of the Act to the Parliament. What’s most important, after all, is the protection zone,” he said.
Suswono explained that the national consumption of meat is 50,000 cattle per month; meanwhile the current stock of imported feeder cattle is only 150,000 cattle.
“That means we only have enough meat for 3 months. With the ban from Australia, no more cattle are imported to meet the national demands,” he said. (Daniel Wesly Rudolf/OL-9)
Source : Media Indonesia