A worker milking a cow at the Bintang Tani dairy farm in Bogor regency, West Java. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Agriculture Ministry has announced it has imported over 1,500 dairy cows from Australia as part of a campaign to boost milk production and domestic farmer productivity, as well as to support President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meal programme.
“Within two days, we have brought 1,573 dairy cows from Australia to Indonesia to strengthen the dairy cow population and support local farmer productivity,” Agung Suganda, the ministry’s animal husbandry and animal health director general said on Sunday (June 29), as quoted by news agency Antara.
Of the total imported cows, as many as 1,088 dairy cows arrived in Tanjung Tembaga Port in Probolinggo, East Java, on Saturday.
The imports are facilitated by PT Santosa Agrindo Lestari (Santori), a subsidiary of poultry firm PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia, in partnership with dairy producer PT Greenfields Dairy Indonesia and other firms PT Karya Suci Pratama, PT Irfai Berkah Sejahtera, PT Arla Food and Suka Makmur cooperative.
On Friday, 485 dairy cows also arrived in the country through Tanjung Wangi port in Banyuwangi, East Java, facilitated by PT Kironggo Joyo.
Agung said that the import decision was aligned with the government’s vision to expedite the increase of the cow population and national milk production.
“The government is aiming to increase the dairy cow population to as many as one million by 2029. This is a crucial part of achieving food self-sufficiency and supporting the free meal programme,” Agung said.
Indonesia’s milk production currently only covers over 21 per cent of total national demand, leaving a deficit of 4.6 million tonnes per year, he added.
“The imported cows are expected to help increase the capacity of local farmers and encourage domestic milk self-sufficiency,” he added. Agriculture ministry’s animal health director Imron Suandy assured that all the imported cows “have undergone strict animal health protocols” before arriving in Indonesia.
The government also said that the cows are in “healthy condition, free from infectious diseases and equipped with documents that meet the international standards”.
“Along with the Indonesian Quarantine Agency, we will conduct thorough quarantine measures and animal health checks. This is part of our commitment to maintain animal health as well as ensure their safety,” Imron said.
He added that the government would conduct continuous monitoring during the distribution process of dairy cows to all the shipment joint firms and the dairy producer Greenfields Indonesia in East Java.
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman previously has also addressed the country’s milk deficit, saying that the government would need to boost milk supply for the free meals programme.
“Considering the additional [fresh milk] supply for the free meals programme, the production shortage reaches 8.5 million tonnes,” Amran said in an official statement issued by the Agriculture Ministry in February.
To navigate the shortage, the government plans to only introduce milk in certain areas in close proximity to dairy farms, while other locations will see it replaced with substitute items, such as eggs and moringa leaves.
Minister Amran also said that the government would import 200,000 dairy cows and 200,000 beef cattle. Vietnam’s milk and food producer TH Group will be among the suppliers of the two commodities.
He said the government was ready to provide various policy incentives, including import duty exemptions for livestock and dairy industry equipment, funding schemes with competitive interest rates as well as livestock business insurance. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
