Trade Minister Rules Out Additional Beef Import Quotas as Supply Deemed Sufficient

Trade Minister Budi Santoso has claimed that the national beef supply is still in a safe condition, even though prices in several regions have increased over the past week. The government is continuously monitoring price movements while ensuring smooth distribution to prevent widespread volatility.

The price increases that have occurred are not considered to be triggered by a lack of stock. The government instead views the main issue as the smoothness of distribution to a number of areas experiencing higher price rises compared to other regions.

“We continue to ensure that the stock for beef is sufficient. The highest retail price (HET) for beef is Rp140,000 per kilogramme, and the national average price is Rp140,000. There are some areas with higher prices, and some that are in line with the HET,” said Budi Santoso at the House of Representatives building on Tuesday (21/7/2026).

The national price of beef is still around the Highest Retail Price (HET). Nevertheless, he acknowledged that there are still several regions recording higher prices than other areas. This condition is more influenced by the smoothness of distribution rather than supply availability issues.

“We will maintain the distribution properly. So, areas where prices have risen slightly are most likely due to distribution,” Budi stated.

In addition to ensuring distribution runs smoothly, the government also confirmed that the national beef stock is sufficient to meet public demand. Therefore, there is no reason for the public to worry about supply availability. “The supply is sufficient, no problem,” he said.

As long as domestic stock remains adequate, supply will be optimised through existing distribution and management mechanisms. This means that the option of adding import quotas is not currently on the table. “No (imports), in accordance with the established commodity balance, so there is no problem because stocks are still quite plentiful,” Budi said.