Indonesia is expecting the second
shipment of live cattle from Australia to arrive this Sunday to help
curb rising prices around the Idul Fitri holiday.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade has allowed imports of an additional
25,000 heads of live cattle over the next three months to curb beef
prices, which have climbed to around Rp 100,000 ($9.7) per kilogram as
demand spikes during Ramadan.The figure includes 12,500 ready-to-slaughter cattle expected to arrive from Australia between July 31 and Aug. 13.
The first shipment from Darwin saw 1,478 ready-to-slaughter cattle arrive at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Wednesday.
The second shipment, which consists of 4,817 cattle, left Darwin on Jul. 29 and is expected to arrive at Tanjung Priok on Aug. 4, the Indonesian consulate in Darwin said in a press statement on Thursday.
“The next shipments of ready-to-slaughter cattle … have been scheduled for July 31 and Aug. 1,” the statement said, adding that all the imported cattle would have to pass biosecurity checks by veterinarians in Darwin before their shipment to Indonesia.
In a bid to promote its domestic beef market, Indonesia slashed its import quota for live cattle by more than a third in 2012 and by another 30 percent for 2013. The beef-import quota was cut by nearly two-thirds in 2012 and by 6 percent for 2013.
The total beef-import quotas for 2013 were set at 32,000 tons, of which approximately 20 percent consisted of prime cuts, while the live-cattle import quota was set at 267,000 heads of cattle.
In the wake of rising beef prices in Ramadan, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said last month that additional beef and cattle imports outside the earlier-agreed-upon quota would only be allowed if local prices spiked by more than 15 percent.
The Indonesian Feedlot Association separately said prices were expected to return below Rp 80,000 per kilogram with the import of the 25,000 heads of cattle.