First shipment of Australian breeding cattle delivered to Indonesian province of South Kalimantan


Three hundred Australian cattle have arrived in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, in a historic first shipment for the Indonesia-Australia Commercial

SOURCE: Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources

Three hundred Australian cattle have arrived in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, in a historic first shipment for the Indonesia-Australia Commercial Cattle Breeding Program (IACCB).

Federal Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, and Chair of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, Thomas Lembong, said this initiative would help develop the Indonesian cattle industry, boost investment opportunities and enhance trade between the two nations.

"We are working together to develop a more competitive, efficient and sustainable Australia-Indonesia red meat and cattle industry as part of a globally competitive, commercial supply chain," Mr Joyce said.

"As demand for beef in Indonesia continues to rise, this project is one more example of Australia's commitment to work with the Indonesian industry to increase productivity through the transfer of skills and expertise in cattle breeding.

"It will generate strong investment opportunities and establish important new markets for Australian breeding stock."

Key points

  • The Indonesia–Australia Partnership on Food Security in the Red Meat and Cattle Sector is part of the Australian Government's $60 million assistance package to foster a deeper partnership between the meat industries in Australia and Indonesia.
  • The IACCB is the flagship initiative of the Partnership; it is a $9 million project that will run from 2016–18 aiming to support the commercialisation of cattle breeding in Indonesia. It commenced in February 2016.
  • Two-way agricultural trade with Indonesia was worth nearly $4 billion in 2015.
  • Indonesian total consumption of beef is growing at around 4 per cent every year.
  • Indonesia is on track to become the world's fourth largest economy by 2050.

SOURCE: Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources

Mr Lembong, the former Indonesian Minister for Trade, said the program would pilot a range of different commercial scale breeding models with private partners and commercially focused cooperative smallholder groups to assess economically viable and sustainable larger scale breeding models.

"This partnership will assist the ongoing development of sustainable agricultural industries in Indonesia and further strengthen our already strong trade and investment relationship with Australia," he said.

As part of this project, Australia will supply 2,000 breeding heifers and 100 bulls to selected partner sites.

In addition to the cattle, the program team will be providing extensive support on pasture development, business management, cattle husbandry, and monitoring and evaluation systems to find and promote commercially viable breeding models for Indonesia.

The Indonesia Government has previously stated that it would like to see two million breeder cattle imported by 2018, and has been offering financial support to its eastern provinces, such as Kalimantan, to help build the necessary infrastructure for importing Australian cattle.

In a separate initiative, the Indonesian Government has introduced a new trade rule, forcing feedlotters to import a certain percentage of cattle for breeding purposes. The rule has proven unpopular, with the majority of importers challenging the decision.