Dewanti A. Wardhani, Jakarta – "Sorry [...] we were very slow," Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said on behalf of the government, admitting that the late decision to import had contributed to surging beef prices.
The slow issuance of import licenses was partly caused by a data mix-up. Agriculture Ministry data suggested no import was necessary because of a higher cattle population than what was reported by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Hence, there has been a shortage of beef supply in the country's market, while demand for beef continues to rise during the festive Ramadhan fasting month in the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
"We should have issued the import permits for 650,000 tons of live cattle all at once at the beginning of this year, so that importers could adjust the timing for the cattle imports by considering the season and the demand," Thomas told reporters on Saturday.
The ministry issued at the beginning of this year import licenses for only 120,000 tons of live cattle, compared with the overall 650,000 tons needed throughout the year, based on official calculations agreed to at a meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.
With a small amount of imported cattle, a shortage of beef has continued until now, resulting in high beef prices, Thomas added.
Beef prices currently stand at around Rp 100,000 to Rp 135,000 per kilogram (kg), according to nationwide prices at hargapangan.id. That compares with the government's target of Rp 80,000 per kg for beef.
Thomas also admitted that the government's tardiness in carrying out the import process was also caused by a lack of coordination between the trade and agriculture ministries.
Earlier in the year, Thomas and Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman disagreed over food supplies and whether or not the government should carry out imports as each ministry's data on food production and food needs contradicted the other.
"The ministries could not come to an agreement. We kept arguing instead of working. It's good that we've come to terms now," Thomas said recently. Throughout Ramadhan, Thomas and Amran have repeatedly held joint meetings to discuss rising food prices in an attempt to find a long-term solution.
BPS data says the population of live cattle in the country totals 12.5 million, while the Agriculture Ministry's data points to a higher figure of 17.5 million, according to the Cow and Buffalo Breeders Association (PPSKI). This data issue has also caused damage to local farmers.
The high population of cattle – based on the Agriculture Ministry's data – persuaded Indonesia to halt the importation of cattle. In reality, however, the country needed to import to meet the high demand for beef, PPSKI chair Teguh Boediyana said. "As a result, we have had to slaughter female cattle, which is actually forbidden," Teguh added.
Conflicts of interest between the two ministries caused disagreements between the ministries, according to the Institue for Development on Economics and Finance (INDEF).
While the Trade Ministry would rather import than risk food scarcity, the Agriculture Ministry would be embarrassed to acknowledge a lack of supply, said INDEF executive director Enny Sri Hartati. The BPS, she said, was also not trustworthy on food production data as they were not allocated enough funding by the government to properly gather reliable data.
"I think the BPS should also cooperate with food-producing villages to obtain primary data as well so that the predictions can be more accurate," Enny said.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has asked for all ministries to refer to BPS data instead of their own respective data sets to be consistent when shaping policies.
To help improve the accuracy of food data, the Agriculture Ministry will cooperate with Indonesia's National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN). Through satellite images, LAPAN will provide data on land mapping, as well as mapping for irrigation infrastructure and farm roads. It will also forecast paddy crop growth phases and productivity.
"Hopefully, this will improve the quality of data on food supply and production so we can more accurately predict food supply," Agriculture Ministry secretary general Hari Priyono said. (vny)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/20/govt-takes-blame-high-beef-price.html