Why is Australian meat cheaper?<\/p>\n
By Mangku Sitepoe<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Following the Indonesian government's plan to
\nimport meat from India, Australian businessmen, through
\nIndonesia's state minister of food affairs and horticulture,
\noffered on Feb. 4 this year to sell frozen meat to Indonesia at
\nRp 10,500 per kilogram (US$1.20\/kg). This price includes cost of
\ngoods, insurance and freight to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
This price is lower than the Rp 11,000\/kg ($1.25\/kg) quoted by
\nIndian meat producers (the exchange rate at the time was Rp 8,375
\nto the dollar). The Australian meat producers also offered higher
\nquality frozen meat for Rp 15,000\/kg ($1.71\/kg).<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been importing beef from Australia, the United
\nStates, New Zealand, the member countries of the European Union
\nand other countries for quite a long time. At first, only top-
\nquality meat was imported, but now meats of various quality and
\nprice are imported. The price of meat not only depends on its
\nquality and type but also on where it comes from.<\/p>\n
Abroad, the meat from slaughtered cattle is classified as (a)
\nedible meat and (b) edible offal meat. Nonedible offal meat, such
\nas the snout, ears and lips, is disposed of and no one consumes
\nit (Ockerman HW, Food Science Source Book, 1978).<\/p>\n
If the government is now considering importing meat, the main
\ngoal should be to ensure that the meat is affordable to the
\ncommunity, especially with regards to domestic sellers of foods
\nmade of meat and eaten as light meals. Such food is usually made
\nof edible offal meat.<\/p>\n
The following table documents the import of meat of various
\ntypes, qualities and prices from Australia in 1997:<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Type of meat Quantity Value *) Price\/kg<\/p>\n
(kg) (US$) (US$)
\n --------------------------------------------------------------
\n Edible meat:
\n 1. Meat with bones,<\/p>\n
fresh 3,731 4,804 1.286
\n 2. Meat without<\/p>\n
bones, fresh 387,803 727,495 1.876
\n 3. Frozen carcass<\/p>\n
meat 1,875 5,730 3.056
\n 4. Meat with bones,<\/p>\n
frozen 160,826 267,591 1.664
\n 5. Meat without<\/p>\n
bones, frozen 15,290,754 21,678,686 1.418
\n ------------------------------------------------------------
\n Total 15,844,989 22,684,306<\/p>\n
Edible offal meat:
\n 6. Frozen tongue 48,559 76,867 1.583
\n 7. Frozen liver 2,237,149 1,829,574 0.818
\n 8. Other parts,<\/p>\n
frozen 1,630,850 1,589,288 0.945
\n -------------------------------------------------------------
\n Total 3,916,538 3,495,729
\n --------------------------------------------------------------
\n *) CIF Jakarta, Import Duty of 5% and Value Added Tax of 10%<\/p>\n
Source: Indonesia's Foreign Trade Statistics, 1997<\/p>\n
Central Bureau of Statistics, Jakarta<\/p>\n
If we look carefully at the above table we may say that a
\nlarge portion of the meat offered by Australian companies may be
\nclassified as \"edible offal meat\". Obviously, this is in line
\nwith the government's plan to import meat from India in order to
\nfulfill the need for meat as the raw material of foods usually
\nsold as light meals. We can say, therefore, that the Australian
\nmeat can be offered at a lower price because of its quality. This
\nis the first factor why Australian meat-exporting companies can
\noffer their products at a low price. There are two other factors
\nwhich allow this meat to be sold at a lower price.<\/p>\n
It is very likely that the meat offered comes from cattle
\nwhich have been given growth hormone. In some countries, such as
\nthe United States, Australia and Japan, growth hormones are
\npermitted (although in the case of Japan only natural growth
\nhormones may be used). Indonesia and all member countries of the
\nEuropean Union prohibit the use of hormones to boost the growth
\nof cattle.<\/p>\n
In the United States, over 80 percent of cattle feed is mixed
\nwith growth hormones. Feeder cattle are fattened with a growth
\nhormone injection in the form of an implant inserted under the
\nskin behind the ear.<\/p>\n
Of course, the consumption of meat coming from cattle given
\ngrowth hormones is tightly controlled. Such cattle can be
\nslaughtered only after a certain period of time has elapsed from
\nthe time they were given the hormones. In the case of the
\ntrebolone acetate (TBA) hormone, for example, the cattle only can
\nbe slaughtered a minimum of 63 days from the time the TBA is
\nimplanted.<\/p>\n
There is also a strict standard for the amount of hormones
\nmeat classified safe for human consumption can contain. In the
\nUnited States the standard is 50 parts per billion (ppb), while
\nin Japan the permissible level is 25 ppb. The World Health
\nOrganization states that for adults the maximum level of hormones
\nconsidered safe is 0.0 - 0.01 micrograms\/kg of body weight. So if
\nsomeone weighs 60 kg, the maximum permissible TBA level is 0.6
\nmicrograms.<\/p>\n
For a cow which has received TBA, when it is slaughtered the
\ncontent of TBA found in the meat from its thighs will be 0.001 -
\n0.004 micrograms\/1 gram of meat. If an adult eats 100 gram of
\nthis meat, he will consume 0.4 micrograms of TBS, still lower
\nthan the level recommended by WHO. This is why the amount of
\nhormones in meat to be consumed by humans is strictly controlled.
\n(Mangku Sitepoe, The Jakarta Post, Feb. 19, 1999).<\/p>\n
Growth hormones are given to cattle to accelerate growth.
\nAccording to cattle breeding experts, when TBA is used the daily
\nweight gain of cattle can increase by 10 percent, while feed
\nconversion, the ratio between daily weight gain and the total
\nweight of the feed consumed by the cattle, may be reduced from 11
\nto 9. We can say, therefore, that the use of growth hormones in
\ncattle reduces production costs. In other words, the use of
\nhormones can lower the selling price of cattle. So, the second
\nfactor why Australian meat can be offered at a price lower than
\nthat quoted by Indian meat producers is that it is likely that
\ngrowth hormones are used to breed the Australian cattle.<\/p>\n
The third factor is that in Indonesia, virtually all parts of
\nthe cattle may be eaten. Parts of offal meat which are usually
\ndisposed of, like the snout and the ears, are here turned into
\nvarious dishes. So, something worthless in the United States is
\nof value in this country.<\/p>\n
Take a cow's liver for example. In the United States, if the
\ncattle are given TBA, after the cattle is slaughtered the liver
\ncontains 1.42 micrograms\/gram of liver. If an adult eats 100
\ngrams of liver, he ingests 142 micrograms of TBA, which is 236
\ntimes higher than the 0.6 microgram recommended by WHO for an
\nadult weighing 60 kg.<\/p>\n
So, in the United States the liver from cattle given TBA
\ngrowth hormones is categorized as offal meat and is sold at a
\nvery low price. In Indonesia, on the contrary, these livers are
\nvery popular. In 1997 alone, this country imported 6,624 tons of
\ncattle liver, of which 2,237 tons came from Australia.<\/p>\n
The skin of cattle is another example. In the skin from behind
\nthe ear where the TBA has been implanted, after 63 days have
\npassed, the length of time recommended before the cattle can be
\nslaughtered, 60 percent to 70 percent of the TBA still remains in
\nthe skin. This equals up to 90 micrograms of TBA hormone (usually
\nan implant contains 300 micrograms of TBA). If this part of the
\ncattle is eaten, 90 million micrograms of TBA is ingested.<\/p>\n
According to Ockerman, ear skin is offal meat, while in
\nIndonesia ear skin is eaten as chips or mixed into a kind of
\nfruit or vegetable salad. This practice is indeed harmful to
\nhuman health. (Indonesia prohibits the use of growth hormones so
\nit is safe to eat all parts of domestically raised cattle).<\/p>\n
So the third factor why Australian meat can be offered at a
\nlow price is that the pattern of meat consumption in Indonesia
\nmakes it possible for Australian meat producers to offer its meat
\nat a low price.<\/p>\n
To sum up, Australian meat can be offered at a low price
\nbecause of the quality of the meat, the use of growth hormones
\nand the pattern of meat consumption in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The writer is a physician and a veterinary surgeon based in
\nJakarta.<\/p>",
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