Govt may import eggs for Idul Fitri: Rahardi

JAKARTA (JP): For the first time, Indonesia may have to import eggs in anticipation of shrinking supplies in the run-up to the Muslim Idul Fitri celebration in mid-January, Industry and Trade Minister Rahardi Ramelan said on Wednesday.

Rahardi said that judging by the soaring price of eggs, he was concerned that the domestic supply was declining with the most- celebrated Muslim holiday fast approaching.

"I have asked several companies to import eggs, and if these imports are not enough, Bulog (the State Logistics Agency) will also import eggs," he told reporters at a briefing on the domestic food supply.

Rahardi did not specify the amount of eggs the country would import, but he cited Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei as possible suppliers.

In the past, food prices have normally risen before Idul Fitri, forcing the government to intervene in the markets through Bulog, which serves as a buffer agency for the government. However, the agency's monopoly over food commodities has been limited to rice this year.

This is the first time that the government has been concerned enough to consider importing eggs.

The price of eggs has risen continuously this year, especially within the last month as Muslims, who make up over 90 percent of the country's population, began their observances of the holy month of Ramadhan, and as Christmas and New Years celebrations near.

Eggs have been sold at around Rp 8,000 in the past two weeks, twice the normal price of Rp 4,000.

Earlier this year, as the rupiah's value bottomed out against the U.S. dollar, many small and medium-sized poultry farms went out of business following a sharp rise in the price of feed.

The farmers could not afford the rising prices on the imported raw materials for fodder, forcing them to feed their chickens rice husks or let the poultry die of starvation.

This forced many poultry companies to sell their chickens, even those which had not matured enough to slaughter, lowering the supply of chicken meat by 50 percent at the time.

In anticipation of higher demand for food products, Rahardi also urged private companies to begin importing the food commodities which had been freed from trade restrictions by the government.

He said that despite the removal of import restrictions after the lifting of subsidies, very few companies had begun to import commodities like sugar, wheat and soybeans.

"I need to get this clear so there will not be confusion: all importers are free to import these commodities and they should do it now because demands are high while the rupiah's level against the dollar is still below Rp 8,000," he said.

The rupiah now hovers at around Rp 7,500 to the U.S. dollar, compared to the precrisis level of Rp 2,500. The rupiah hit a low of around Rp 16,000 to the dollar earlier this year.

He dismissed suggestions that most of the importers had difficulties obtaining trade financing, stressing that most traders were not yet fully aware that they could now freely import the products.

Many importers can not secure letters of credit from local banks because the economic turmoil has severely damaged the country's banking sector.

Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Adi Sasono also said on Wednesday that he expected some 19,000 imported cattle to arrive from Australia before Idul Fitri.

He also said that Bulog currently had 415,000 tons of raw and refined sugar in stock.

The Indonesian Distribution Cooperatives, which took over Bulog's stock of palm oil when subsidies were removed from the commodity, have 62,000 tons of cooking oil in stock, he added. (das)