17-7-2023 (JAKARTA) Indonesia is looking to expand its cattle imports from South Africa and Mexico to reduce its reliance on supply from Australia, according to Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade Suhanto. Indonesia is currently in the process of trade negotiations with Mexico to ensure the import of cattle to meet domestic demand. Meanwhile, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan mentioned the plan to import 50,000 cattle from South Africa during his meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Suhanto said the import of cattle from South Africa and Mexico will be implemented so that Indonesia will not solely depend on supply from Australia, as Australian cattle prices tend to increase annually, affecting domestic prices. Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) data shows that Australia is the largest exporter of cattle to Indonesia. In 2017, Australia’s cattle imports to Indonesia reached 85,192 tonnes.
By 2018, this number had risen to 100,623 tonnes, and in 2019 it was 122,684 tonnes. In 2020, Indonesia imported 105,160 tonnes, but in the following year, it imported 122,863 tonnes. The move to expand cattle imports from South Africa and Mexico is aimed at diversifying Indonesia’s cattle supply sources and reducing its dependence on Australia.
