Australia asked to stop poor-quality beef exports

JAKARTA (JP): An Indonesian trade executive urged Australia yesterday to stop exporting poor-quality beef here and start importing live cattle instead.

Aburizal Bakrie, Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said importing poor-quality beef from Australia could hurt local farmers.

If the Australian beef was sold in traditional Indonesian markets it would reduce local beef sales, he said, reported Antara.

Speaking after a meeting with the Australian Minister of Trade, Tim Fischer, in Canberra, Aburizal said exporting poor- quality beef could also tarnish Australia's image.

"In the long run people will think the country no longer produces good quality beef," he said.

Aburizal said Australia should export live cattle instead of meat.

"By exporting cattle, Australia will be able to compete with New Zealand and the USA," he said.

Aburizal is leading an Indonesian trade mission, which arrived in Canberra Monday for a five-day visit. Besides meeting with Australian senior officials, the delegation will take part in the Australia-Indonesia Forum's annual meeting today.

At yesterday's meeting, Aburizal and Fischer agreed the two countries needed to improve their relationship by opening their markets to each other's products.

Australia was expected to open its market to more products from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, and vice versa, Aburizal said.

They agreed to provide facilities to support business relations between the two countries.

"We need to make the synergy promoted by the Australia- Indonesia Development Area business forum more convenient by providing trade facilities," he said of the new subregional cooperation linking Indonesia's eastern provinces and northern Australia.

The facilities should include easier immigration processes, departure tax exemptions for businesses in both countries, and simpler visa processes from Australia, Aburizal said.

He said he hoped Australia would not use health and technical standards as a way of imposing protectionism on Indonesian products.

He told Fischer that Australian high tariffs or duty rates on Indonesian products had challenged two way trade activities.

"Duty rates on products like textiles, clothing and shoes is up to 30 percent," he said.

Meanwhile, Fischer said Australia hoped to export more car components to Indonesia to take part in the country's growing automotive industry.

Data from the Indonesian consulate in Canberra shows the value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and Australia was A$4.8 billion last year in Australia's favor.

Australian exports were A$3.09 billion and Indonesia's A$1.71 billion. (das)