Imported chicken legs

Imported chicken legs

As part of the implementation of the globalization policy, the government has decided to import chicken legs from the United States provided the food is halal (permissible according to Islamic doctrine). This decision is a blow to national livestock farmers.

In the current gloomy economic conditions, small-scale livestock farmers, especially poultry breeders, are opposed to globalization. They believe that globalization is detrimental to small-scale enterprises.

Their opposition to the chicken leg imports from the U.S. is also based on the assumption that the presence of the product in Indonesia will push local poultry breeders out of business, no matter how efficient they are.

There is an impression that the opening of the import market is not the policy of the government as each ministry in Indonesia has its own interests at stake in this case.

An official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade revealed that his ministry as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) favored chicken leg imports from any supplier country, including the U.S., provided the products met the halal stipulation.

However, an official of the agriculture ministry said that the ministry had stated its opposition to the chicken imports from the U.S. until the U.S. fulfills the demand for a thorough review of its bilateral trade with Indonesia.

The industry and trade ministry's decision to allow chicken imports from the U.S. is understandable because the U.S. has pressured Indonesia to open her market to imported goods. Indonesia's refusal to import chicken legs from the U.S. in the past had a detrimental effect on Indonesia's shrimp exports to that country.

It is necessary to underline that the people are longing for a united government.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta