Indonesian Consumers Foundation Alleges FMD Emerged Due To Changes In Indonesia's Meat Import Policy

Checking cattle on a farm in Garut, West Java. (AntaraHO-Diskominfo Garut)

JAKARTA - The daily chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), Tulus Abadi, suspects that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in livestock is due to a change in the orientation of the meat import policy.

"I suspect and analyze that the emergence of this FMD is due to a change in the orientation of the meat import policy. In the past, the orientation of the livestock law adhered to a country-based regime, now it is zone-based", said Tulus in an online event with the theme "Ahead of Eid al-Adha 1443 H, Safeguard Animal Victims in Middle of FMD" on Thursday, June 16.

What is meant by country-based, according to Tulus, is importing meat from countries that are completely free of FMD? Meanwhile, currently, the government uses a zone-based policy, such as importing meat from countries such as India.

India, he said, has not been completely free from the FMD outbreak, only a few states have been free from the outbreak.

"I think the government should have the courage to review it and then return to country based if indeed this comes from meat from the red zone areas", he added.

According to him, investigative steps are needed to detect the origin of the FMD outbreak, in which Indonesia has been free from the livestock disease outbreak for quite a long time because imports of feeder cattle or meat from the zone-based are not yet free of FMD.

Tulus understands that the government's zone-based policy is indeed to lower the price of beef, in particular, currently, it still depends on imports from certain countries, for example in Australia or New Zealand.

"By opening a zone-based, it means that there is more accessible, but if later from that zone there is FMD disease, yes, the risk is like this. Therefore, I think the government is also re-evaluating the initial regime if this is indeed triggered by imports from countries that have FMD is not free yet", he said.