Importer group balks at buying Indian meat

Importer group balks at buying Indian meat

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Meat Importers Association
(Aspidi) said on Monday it will not import meat from India even
though it has been assigned by the government to do so.

Aspidi chairwoman Frieda N. Nalapraya said importing the
Indian beef and buffalo meat would be too risky because it could
spread disease to the local cattle industry.

"We do not want to be blamed if the contagious diseases spread
to this country," she said at a media gathering, while admitting
that importing the Indian meat could give them higher profits as
it is much cheaper than that from other countries.

Aspidi's statement followed growing opposition from the public
to the buying of Indian beef.

The Indonesian Veterinary Association, the Indonesian Meat
Producers and Feedlot Association, and the Indonesian Consumer
Foundation have earlier voiced similar criticisms of the
government's plan to import Indian meat to compensate for the
shortfall in the local market.

According to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) --
an international body dealing with epizootiology, the study of
epidemics among animals -- India has not been declared free of
foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest, an highly contagious
bovine pleuropneumonia.

The OIE ranks rinderpest, which has a 90 percent mortality
rate, as the most dangerous animal disease in the world.

Indonesia eradicated the disease in 1990 after a plague
decimated the country's cattle population in 1987. Importing the
Indian meat could bring the disease back into the country.

Some analysts have speculated that the public's opposition to
buying the Indian meat was engineered by Australian meat
exporters and their local partners so that Indonesia would
continue to buy from the neighboring country.

The president of cattle rearing company PT Tipperary Indonesia
Willy Soegiono dismissed the speculation.

"We import from Australia because that country has been
declared free of contagious diseases, the prices of its cattle
are more competitive and the transportation costs are lower than
importing cattle from the United States," he said at the same
gathering.

He added that shipment from the United States took about 28
days, while shipment from Australia took only five days.

Willy said the move could also hurt the local cattle industry,
which had begun to export to other countries.

"If the imported meat from India spread diseases to our
cattle, we would never be able to enter the export market again.
Singapore may stop importing our pork, and other countries will
stop buying leather from us," he said.

Willy said the plan, if realized, would be an invitation to
other countries not yet declared disease-free to export their
meat to Indonesia.

Former director general of animal husbandry Soehadji said that
the government's plan to import Indian beef was counterproductive
to its pledge to develop the local cattle industry.

Soehadji, who was once also vice president of OIE, said that
although the special team assigned to study the Indian meat found
the meat to be hygienic, the government should make a bilateral
agreement with the Indian government.

"If the government decides to import the Indian meat, the move
should be followed by establishing a health protocol, which would
require the Indian government to guarantee that its meat exports
are free from highly contagious diseases." (gis)