Indonesia suspends imports of Indian buffalo meat
Despite the fact that Indonesia has become a large buyer of Indian buffalo meat for the last 5 years, as an attempt of reducing the dependency on Australian beef, last week, the Asian country placed a ban on beef imported from India. The head of government logistics agency Bulog told Indonesia's parliament "due to the lockdown … plus the development of the COVID-19 virus in India … we temporarily stopped the [buffalo meat] import plan," chief executive Budi Waseso said, according to Reuters.
The Indonesian authorities have allowed import permits for 80,000 tonnes of buffalo meat this year, of which 13,000 tonnes have already arrived prior to the Ramadam celebration. However, the ban is creating some important disruptions in the supply chain. "So the government in Indonesia has not decided on whether [to enforce] a ban [on buffalo meat imports] due to COVID-19 in India, but what we hear from Bulog is that imports will be postponed", commented Indonesian livestock consultant Robi Agustiar.
For now, the Aussie red meat industry seems to re-gain an advantage in the Indonesian market, as Australia represents one of the long-time beef suppliers.
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