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Poultry Business Owners Protesting Hard Against Possible Importation of Poultry
Jakarta - Poultry business owners are protesting hard against rules from the ministry of agriculture which opens the possibility for poultry importation. They are worried the policy could cause destruction to poultry industry in Indonesia. Such notion was expressed by General Chairman of the Indonesian Poultry Society Forum (FMPI), Don P Utoyo in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/5) in response to the Agriculture Minister’s Directive (Permentan) No. 20 Year 2009 on importation and monitoring of carcass, meat, and/or offal distribution from other countries.
Article 13 and 21 of the Permentan is believed to be very contraproductive, especially for the poultry sector because it has opened doors for imported products. This policy is threatening the livelihood of approximately 2.5 million small-scale poultry farmers.
This Permentan is also seen as inconsiderate of the objective conditions of farming sectors, particularly poultry. “Soon we will be meeting with the Agriculture Minister to talk about this policy,” said Don.
Chairman of the National Poultry Market Information Center (PINSAR), Hartono, said the government should be wiser in understanding the condition of Indonesia’s poultry sector, including its position in the global market.
PINSAR’s data in 2008 shows that the total demand for chicken is 980,000 tons and for eggs is 920,000 tons.
“These demands are already met by domestic poultry industries. So, opening import will only destroy the market price and lead to the destruction of the industry, including feedmills,” said Hartono. (OSA).
Source : Kompas