Mataram City Government to Coordinate Beef Prices to Anticipate Slaughterer Strike

The Mataram City Government will immediately coordinate with the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government regarding the rise in cattle prices at several livestock markets, as a measure to anticipate an extended strike by slaughterers at the Majeluk Slaughterhouse (RPH) in Mataram. “We will coordinate with the provincial government soon to find a solution and control the shipment of cattle out of the region so that prices can return to normal,” said the Head of the Livestock Division at the Mataram City Agriculture Office (Distan), Lalu Hapiludin, in Mataram on Monday. This statement was made after visiting the Majeluk RPH and observing the strike by slaughterers who have ceased slaughtering activities because cattle prices are too high. The slaughterers have even stated they will halt slaughtering for three days. In response, the Mataram City Agriculture Office is promptly taking handling measures to prevent the situation from impacting the stock of beef supplies in markets and causing price increases. According to information from the slaughterers, the rise in cattle prices at livestock markets was triggered by entrepreneurs from outside the city purchasing cattle at higher prices, leaving local slaughterers unable to buy livestock at normal prices. Under these conditions, market forces prevail, so livestock traders will sell their cattle to the entrepreneurs offering the highest bids. In relation to this, coordination with the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government is being undertaken to ascertain the quota for cattle shipments out of the region, as the authority for issuing such permits lies with the provincial government. “Meanwhile, we at the city level only issue recommendations,” he said. He explained that to meet the demand for beef in traditional markets, the Mataram City Agriculture Office has only been providing recommendations for slaughter cattle from Sumbawa Island to be processed at the RPH. Hapiludin noted that the Majeluk RPH is one of two slaughterhouses in Mataram City. The other, the Gubuq Mamben Sekarbela RPH, is currently still actively conducting slaughtering. “This morning, the number of cattle slaughtered at the Gubuq Mamben RPH was 18 head,” he said. Nevertheless, the situation at the Majeluk RPH must be addressed promptly so that activities at both slaughterhouses can return to normal, cattle prices can stabilise, and selling prices in the market can follow suit. “We hope the provincial government can take swift action,” he said. The Head of the Essential and Staple Goods Division at the Mataram City Trade Office (Disdag), Sri Wahyunida, previously stated that based on visits to several traditional markets, beef traders are complaining about a lack of buyers due to excessively high meat prices. The current price of beef has reached Rp145,000 per kilogram, exceeding the stipulated maximum price of Rp140,000 per kilogram. “Therefore, we will coordinate with the Agriculture Office to stabilise the price,” she said.