* Import curbs part of plan for food self-sufficiency
* But so far result is lower supply, higher prices
* Street vendors pelt govt building with meatballs in
protest
By Neil Chatterjee and Andjarsari Paramaditha
JAKARTA, Dec 21 (Reuters) – When Barack Obama visited
Indonesia in 2010, he tucked in to a steaming bowl of meatball
broth, known as bakso, served to remind him of his childhood in
Jakarta. But the U.S. president may be out of luck if he wants
another helping on a visit next year.
Bakso sellers, normally street vendors with pushcarts, are
struggling to afford beef and on Thursday took the novel step of
pelting the trade ministry building with meatballs in protest
against prices doubling due to sharp restrictions on meat
imports.
These curbs are part of a grand plan for the world’s fourth
most populous nation to become self-sufficient in key food
commodities, but the result so far has only been lower supply
and surging prices.
“There’s no meat in the market. Maybe we’ll have bakso
tomorrow,” said Gerang, sitting next to a chained up soup tureen
at his empty bakso stand near Obama’s old school in the
exclusive Jakarta district of Menteng.
The two other bakso stalls in the area have already
disappeared, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s
government slashed 2012 import quotas for live cattle by over a
third and beef by nearly two-thirds.
Next year quotas will be cut by another 30 percent for
cattle and 6 percent for beef, even as consumption is seen
rising 13 percent.
And beef stocks are dwindling, with officials saying Jakarta
has run out of its annual import quota for the meat.
Some bakso sellers have been making up for the lack of beef
with pork, considered an outrage in the world’s most populous
Muslim nation, as well as other unsavoury items.
“I stopped eating bakso two weeks ago after I found a small
tail in my soup. I vomited right after that. I thought it was
only an urban legend, but it happened to me,” said Rudi
Afriansyah, a diner at a food stall in Jakarta.
Indonesia has been partly protected from the global economic
downturn in recent years by its domestic production of
commodities such as palm oil and rice, creating calls by
nationalist politicians for even greater self-reliance.
This has also led to taxes on imports of wheat flour, corn
and soybeans. Last month Yudhoyono put domestic output and
control of imports at the heart of a new food law, signalling
further policies regulating trade in commodities are likely.
“Food should be available and affordable, but now it is not
available and not affordable. It will get worse because they are
trying to achieve self-sufficiency,” said Thomas Sembiring,
executive director of the Indonesian Meat Importers Association.
HOLY COW
The moves are affecting Australia as the top exporter of
beef and live cattle to neigbouring Indonesia. The Australian
Livestock Export council’s chief Alison Penfold said exports
were now significantly lower to Indonesia and farmers were
pursuing other markets to make up for the loss.
“The Indonesian government has an admirable goal … but is
trying to force this goal by restricting imports from
Australia,” said David Farley, managing director of major beef
cattle firm Australian Agricultural Company, in a commentary in
the Jakarta Post newspaper this week.
“A more measured policy would be to increase collaboration
with the Australian beef industry to supply Indonesia with the
cattle and technical expertise it needs.”
Indonesia’s local beef output is forecast to rise to 449,000
tonnes in 2013, but this still leaves a shortfall as beef
consumption is seen climbing at the same rate to 549,000 tonnes,
with chains such as Burger King and local steak houses like
Holycow spreading to cater to a burgeoning middle class.
“Self-sufficiency in beef is not rational. They should look
for self-sufficiency in other commodities but not in beef. An
additional 1 kg per capita per year will need an additional 1.5
million cattle … and it takes four years to calf in cattle
before slaughter,” said Sembiring.
(Additional reporting by Michael Taylor and Yayat Supriatna in
Jakarta, Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Joseph Radford)
