ID :
24273
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 13:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24273
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GOVT NOT TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS WITHOUT SAFETY GUARANTEES
Jakarta, Oct 13 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government will not allow meat imports without safety guarantees from the authorities of the exporting countries concerned, Agriculture Minister Anto Apriyantono said here on Monday.
He said the government's plan to import meat from Brazil would not automatically mean opening the opportunity to other countries that were not yet free of cattle diseases to export their farm products to Indonesia.
"To import meat, certan conditions must be met. The product will not be allowed to just come in. They must be covered by a safety guarantee," he said.
The minister made the statement in response to some quarters who suspected that the government's decision to allow imports of meat from Brazil was a mere pretext to smoothen imports from India and China.
He said the government was planning to allow imports of meat from Brazil because accoriding to a study made by a team sent to that country, thr risk of cattle disease in boneless frozen meat from Brazil's non-vaccinated disease-free zone was extremely low.
In Brazil, he said, according to the International Animal Health Organization (OIE), there was a state which was free of hoof and mouth disease without vaccination, namely Santa Catarina.
He said there has also been a gurantee from the authorities concerned in Brazil that the meat to be exported is not from areas which are not yet free of the diseas.
"Brazil so far exports meat to 182 countries including Australia and New Zealand, which are also meat exporters. This will not be possible if the meat is not safe," he said.
On the importance of increasing supervision on meat that enters the country the minister said that his office had routinely carried it out through a quarantine examination.
To tighten it, he said his office has only allowed to import the meat through the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta and Tanjung Perak in East Java.
Some cattle farm businessmen and veterinary community have asked the agriculture ministry to cancel its plan to allow imports of meat from Brazil.
The chairman of the advisory board of the Organization of Indonesian Farmers, Siswono Yudohusodo, said the OIE states that Brazil has so far not been free of the nail and mouth disease.
Indonesia, meanwhile, is a country that has already been free of the disease, he said adding that it took 100 years for the country to become free of the disease.
"If the disease spread to the country the loss will be huge," Siswomo, who is also a cattle breeder, said.
The secretary general of the Association of Indonesian Buffalo and Cow Farmers, Teguh Boediyana, meanwhile said that the government's decision to allow imports of meat from Brazil could threaten business of animal husbandry at home.
"The government should protect local farmers," he said.
A member of the Indonesia Veterinary Watch, Soehaji, said Indonesia as a nail and mouth disease free country must implement maximum security to anticipate possible spread of the disease into the country.
Moreover imported food products are potential to become a medium for spreading exostotic as well as zoonotic diseases.
He said the government's plan to import meat from Brazil would not automatically mean opening the opportunity to other countries that were not yet free of cattle diseases to export their farm products to Indonesia.
"To import meat, certan conditions must be met. The product will not be allowed to just come in. They must be covered by a safety guarantee," he said.
The minister made the statement in response to some quarters who suspected that the government's decision to allow imports of meat from Brazil was a mere pretext to smoothen imports from India and China.
He said the government was planning to allow imports of meat from Brazil because accoriding to a study made by a team sent to that country, thr risk of cattle disease in boneless frozen meat from Brazil's non-vaccinated disease-free zone was extremely low.
In Brazil, he said, according to the International Animal Health Organization (OIE), there was a state which was free of hoof and mouth disease without vaccination, namely Santa Catarina.
He said there has also been a gurantee from the authorities concerned in Brazil that the meat to be exported is not from areas which are not yet free of the diseas.
"Brazil so far exports meat to 182 countries including Australia and New Zealand, which are also meat exporters. This will not be possible if the meat is not safe," he said.
On the importance of increasing supervision on meat that enters the country the minister said that his office had routinely carried it out through a quarantine examination.
To tighten it, he said his office has only allowed to import the meat through the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta and Tanjung Perak in East Java.
Some cattle farm businessmen and veterinary community have asked the agriculture ministry to cancel its plan to allow imports of meat from Brazil.
The chairman of the advisory board of the Organization of Indonesian Farmers, Siswono Yudohusodo, said the OIE states that Brazil has so far not been free of the nail and mouth disease.
Indonesia, meanwhile, is a country that has already been free of the disease, he said adding that it took 100 years for the country to become free of the disease.
"If the disease spread to the country the loss will be huge," Siswomo, who is also a cattle breeder, said.
The secretary general of the Association of Indonesian Buffalo and Cow Farmers, Teguh Boediyana, meanwhile said that the government's decision to allow imports of meat from Brazil could threaten business of animal husbandry at home.
"The government should protect local farmers," he said.
A member of the Indonesia Veterinary Watch, Soehaji, said Indonesia as a nail and mouth disease free country must implement maximum security to anticipate possible spread of the disease into the country.
Moreover imported food products are potential to become a medium for spreading exostotic as well as zoonotic diseases.
