Mataram, W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - The government is trying to cut meat imports by 10 percent per year until the country achieves meat self-sufficiency in 2014, an Agriculture Ministry official said.<\/p>\n
\"Meat imports from a number of countries now account for 35-36 percent (of the domestic needs). We plan to reduce the imports by 10 percent per year,\" Tjeppy D. Soedjana, the ministry`s director general of husbandry, said here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a workshop on action plan for the development of beef cattle, he said Indonesia was determined to reduce its dependence on imported meat through a program designed to achieve meat self-sufficiency in 2014.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia`s cattle imports dropped significantly to 450,000 heads in 2008 from 496,000 heads in 2007.<\/p>\n
\"The cattle imports further fell in 2009,\" he said.<\/p>\n
This year the country`s population of beef cattle reached 11.8 million, 3.5 million of which was found in East Java, he said.<\/p>\n
The country`s meat production was projected to reach 371,000 tons this year, or slight increase compared to 352,400 tons last year, he said.<\/p>\n
He expressed hope the population of beef cattle would increase to 12 million-13 million by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
\"West Nusa Tenggara is one of the regions for the breeding of beef cattle to achieve meat self-sufficiency in 2014,\" he said.
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