Importers snub govt call to boycott Australian meat

JAKARTA (JP): The government's call to switch imports of meat from Australia to Ireland, India and Argentina has received a cold response from local meat importers.

Chairperson of the Association of Indonesian Meat Importers (Aspidi), Frieda Nalapraya, said on Saturday the government's proposal was premature and provocative.

"Don't get emotional and do reckless things over it. Let's not screw up by threatening to turn to others for our meat supply. We have built a long and good relationship with Australia," she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Frieda suggested the government not halt meat imports from Australia unless the Australian exporters refused to sell their meat products to Indonesia.

She said Australia had been the biggest meat supplier for Indonesia for years. Australia contributed around 80 percent of Indonesia's total imported beef of 16,000 tons last year.

Minister of Agriculture Soleh Solahuddin said on Friday the government was considering switching its import of meat from Australia to other countries due to its fear that Australian meat exporters would join the ongoing boycott against Indonesia.

Calls for a boycott toward Indonesia have been launched in Australia by, among others, the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. They intend to show their sympathy to the East Timorese, who voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in the United Nations-sponsored ballot on Aug. 30, but were forced to flee the area amid violent attacks by pro-Indonesia militias.

"We have to immediately find alternative suppliers. We'll arrange intensive negotiations with Ireland, Argentina and India," Soleh said without explaining the cost and benefit of choosing the three countries.

Frieda said she understood the government's concern of the continuation of the supply but strongly objected to it choosing India as an alternative supplier.

"Why India? It's totally unacceptable to import Indian meat because we all know that Indian meat has a high risk of carrying dangerous cattle diseases," she said.

She warned that the government had earlier this year canceled its own plan to import the relatively cheaper Indian buffalo meat after an Indonesian fact-finding team to India revealed that fatal bovine diseases remained in parts of India, confirming the fears of many Indonesian cattle growers that Indian meat could bring dangerous cattle diseases into the country.

Frieda said Ireland and Argentina were the preferred options because their meat carried a low risk of carrying cattle diseases.

Ireland might be given the priority due to its cheaper prices, she said.

"But it will take time in preparing the negotiations and implementing the deal because we don't have any experience in meat import from either Ireland or Argentina," she said. (cst)