Milk products import-ratio policy to be changed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to replace its import-ratio
\npolicy, which is a non-tariff barrier, on milk material imports
\nwith a tariff, to conform with the rules of the World Trade
\nOrganization, an official has announced.<\/p>\n
Director General of Animal Husbandry Erwin Soetirto was quoted
\nover the weekend by Antara as saying in Bandung, West Java, that
\nthe change will help prepare the country's milk industry for free
\ntrade and will be in compliance with the rules of the World Trade
\nOrganization.<\/p>\n
The news agency did not mention when the change will be made.<\/p>\n
Erwin explained that the import-ratio policy has been
\nimplemented since 1982. Under the current formula of its import-
\nratio policy, the government requires milk processing firms to
\nbuy 2.9 liters of milk produced by domestic ranches for every
\nliter of milk they import.<\/p>\n
He said that in the year 2005, tariff barriers for
\nagricultural products will be removed, so domestically-produced
\nmilk, as well as other cattle-based products, must be of
\nsufficient quality to be able to compete with imports, both in
\nterms of quality and quantity.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that Indonesia still faces many technical
\ndifficulties in this sector, which result in low productivity.<\/p>\n
Domestic ranches currently produce nine to 10 liters of milk
\nper cow per day.<\/p>\n
"In Thailand, for instance, milk production by farmers'
\nranches reaches 26 liters per cow per day," Erwin said.<\/p>\n
The economic scale of Indonesian cattle breeding, he said, was
\nalso low, with an ownership of only three to four cows per
\nfamily. This is much lower than the ideal number of eight to 10
\ncows per family, as discovered by studies carried out by the
\nDirectorate General of Animal Husbandry.<\/p>\n
Other problems faced by domestic cattle breeders include lack
\nof managerial skills, problems of reproduction and poor quality
\nand insufficient cattle feed.<\/p>\n
In 1994, Indonesia produced 351,000 tons of milk from a cattle
\npopulation of 338,000. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/milk-products-import-ratio-policy-to-be-changed-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}