Indian beef imports conditionally allowed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Soleh Solahuddin said on
\nFriday the government would allow local traders to import Indian
\nbuffalo meat on the condition it conformed to set requirements.<\/p>\n
Soleh said the decision was based on a recommendation from a
\nfact-finding team recently dispatched to India to study the
\nproposal to import Indian beef.<\/p>\n
After visiting Hyderabad regency in Andhra Pradesh state and
\nAurangabad regency in Maharastra state, the team determined the
\nbuffalo meat in the two regencies was hygienic and met Islamic
\nhalal dietary laws, the minister said,<\/p>\n
However, the team warned that several cases of foot-and-mouth
\ndiseases were found in Andhra Phrades.<\/p>\n
The government will only import of the meat if it is hygienic
\nand fit for human consumption, meets the halal requirement and is
\nfree from harmful and contagious diseases with potential to
\nspread to domestic cattle, the minister said in a media briefing.<\/p>\n
\"So we require the Indian government to establish disease-free
\nzones which are recognized by OIE,\" he said, referring to the
\nOffice of International des Epizooties, the international
\nauthority on epizootiology, the study of epidemics among animals.<\/p>\n
Soleh said the Indian government declared Hyderabad and
\nAurangabad free of food-and-mouth diseases and rinderpest, two
\ndangerous cattle diseases, but the claims were not endorsed by
\nOIE.<\/p>\n
The OIE ranks rinderpest -- a highly contagious bovine
\npleuropneumonia with a 90 percent mortality rate --as the most
\ndangerous animal disease in the world.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was able to eradicate the disease in 1990 after an
\noutbreak decimated the country's cattle population in 1987.<\/p>\n
The government's plan to import Indian meat set off a polemic
\nin the country because many feared the move could bring the
\ndisease back into the country and affect local cattle
\npopulations.<\/p>\n
Soleh said Aurangabad met the criteria to be declared a
\ndisease-free zone by OIE because it was located on a plateau, had
\na 100-kilometer disease-free zone and was surrounded by a buffer
\nzone area.<\/p>\n
He said Aurangabad boasted a decades-long track record of
\nexporting buffalo meat to 68 countries, including Malaysia's
\nSarawak state and Brunei Darussalam.<\/p>\n
\"If the Indian government is not interested in gaining OIE's
\ncertification, then we will not import their meat,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But if they get the recognition, we will establish a mutual
\nrecognition arrangement, a bilateral agreement to regulate the
\nimport of Indian buffalo meat, including establishing a health
\nprotocol, which would require the Indian government to guarantee
\nthat its meat exports are free from highly contagious diseases.\"<\/p>\n
Soleh added the government would assigns veterinarians to
\nIndia to directly oversee the import process if the plan was
\nrealized. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indian-beef-imports-conditionally-allowed-1447893297",
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