Indonesia to import 80,000 tons of beef this year: official

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-1-14 17:59:15

A senior official at the agricultural ministry said on Monday that the government has allocated beef imports at 80 thousand tons this year, consisted of frozen beefs and ready-to-cut cows.

Speaking in Kulon Progo regency Yogyakarta province, Agriculture Deputy Minister Rusman Heriawan said that the beef import allocation consisted of 48 thousand tons raw meat that equals to 288 thousand cows and 32 thousand tons of frozen beefs.

Rusman said that the beef and cows import allocation figure this year was lower compared to a total of 92 thousand tons last year.

He added that it was because the estimated beef consumption in the country would reduce to 14.5 percent from overall meat consumption mix this year from 18.4 percent last year.

"The spirit from reducing the beef import this year was intended to encourage bolster meat and livestock production of domestic cow breeders so as to attain beef self-sufficiency in the country," Rusman said during his visit in an animal husbandry in the regency, adding that beef self-sufficiency in the country was initially targeted in 2014.

The term of beef self-sufficiency in the country should not be assumed of stopping beef imports from foreign countries, the Antara news service quoted the minister as saying.

He added that the government would put limitation on beef import down to 10 percent from national needs, for consumption in hospitality industries such as in lavish hotels.

Posted in: Asia-Pacific, Markets

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