Industry Slams Transfer 100,000-Ton Beef Import Quota to SOEs

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ishana Mahisa, chairman of the Indonesian Meat Processing Industry Association (Nampa), has criticized the government’s decision to transfer 100,000 tons of beef quota from private businesses to SOEs, calling it a breach of established regulations. He argued that import requirements should have been finalized no later than October 2024.

Ishana referred to Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 61/2024 on the Commodity Balance, which, in Article 14, Paragraph 3, mandates that import plans must be set by October of the year preceding the commodity balance period. The previous paragraph states that this process must be conducted through the National Commodity Balance System (Sinas NK).

This rule had already been followed by 86 importers who submitted their import plans in September 2024. Based on these submissions, the government approved a total import quota of 180,000 tons on December 9, 2024. “Now, the government is abruptly revoking the private sector’s allocation. That’s maladministration,” Ishana told Tempo on Thursday, February 6.

He added that the importers' applications had been verified by the Agriculture Ministry. Then, on January 13, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) officially confirmed the 180,000-ton beef import quota allocation to the 86 businesses. “And now, without warning, they’ve changed it. This completely undermines the process mandated by Perpres No. 61/2024,” he said, adding, “Ngono ya ngono ning ojo ngono,” a Javanese phrase meaning, “If you must do it, at least do it properly.”

The government’s decision to reduce the private sector’s quota from 180,000 tons to 80,000 tons and allocate the remaining 100,000 tons to SOEs was made during a closed-door coordination meeting on food policy at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta on Wednesday, February 5. The meeting also approved an additional 100,000-ton buffalo meat import quota for SOEs, incorporating it into the commodity balance.

In a press release issued by the ministry’s public relations office, the government justified the move as a strategy to maintain stable supplies and prices of key food commodities ahead of the National Religious Holidays (HBKN).

The decision to entrust imports to SOEs was also influenced by concerns over rising cases of (FMD), which have worsened during the rainy season. The press release stated that having SOEs handle imports would allow for stricter government oversight and help contain the disease’s spread. "The government can monitor imports carried out by SOEs more closely," the statement read.

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