MEMBER of Commission VI DPR RI Amin AK highlighted the government’s plan to continue implementing import policies to meet domestic meat needs. According to him, the calculation of the meat balance, especially domestic demand and domestic production capacity, must be precise.
The aim of these imports is to ensure that the price of meat on the market is stable and affordable for the public. However, delays in granting Import Permit Letters (SPI) from the government to meat importers have also hampered the supply of meat in the community.
Referring to data from the World Food Agency (FAO), the figure for Indonesian beef consumption is 2.57 kilograms per capita per year. So the national demand for beef consumption this year is estimated at 720,375 tons.
Then referring to this year’s national food balance prognosis data compiled by the National Food Agency (Bapanas) as of January 27 2024, the planned import of feeder beef and buffalo in 2024 reaches 389,024 tonnes. Meanwhile, domestic production is estimated at only 422,649 tons.
“The decision on how much volume to import food, including meat, is based on a balance between domestic needs and domestic production capacity. “Because of that, I ask the government to be able to calculate the national meat balance accurately,” said Amin.
Bapanas’ role in determining the volume of meat imports was also highlighted by Amin. According to him, there needs to be synchronization with domestic production data.
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“If then Bapanas corrects the volume of meat imports from 389,024 tons to 145,251 tons or around 37.33 percent of the original plan, then we can be sure there is a problem with our domestic production data. “The Ministry of Agriculture, as a data provider, should be able to provide an explanation of the actual population of cattle and buffalo in the country and how much meat production is every year,” explained the Member of the DPR for the East Java Regional Election District IV.
“The difference or correction is very big. So it is very likely to have an impact on the balance between demand and supply. “Don’t let inaccurate data cause both smallholder farmers and consumers to suffer losses due to data errors,” added this PKS faction politician.
Apart from that, he continued, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) must also consider the right timing in issuing permits to import feeder cattle and import frozen meat. The Ministry of Trade also needs to prioritize the fate of local cattle breeders.
“With proper import management, on the one hand, supply and price stability will be well maintained. “On the other hand, people’s cattle breeders also did not suffer losses due to the sudden drop in prices,” he concluded.
Data confusion in the field also affects import volumes. The unification of data on the number of feeder cattle and cattle ready for slaughter in the country has an impact on the amount of domestic supply. Based on data collected by importers, the government’s decision to increase meat consumption to 2.9 kg per capita should also be accompanied by an increase in import volume. If this is not accompanied, a high spike in meat prices on the market will occur. Especially in the moments leading up to the upcoming Eid al-Fitr 1445 H. (Z-7)
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