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