SPECULATION suggests the Indonesian government is set to announce 250,000 head of live cattle import permits from Australia for the next trimester.
The quota system was changed this year to introduce a four monthly announcements by the Indonesian government rather than quarterly decisions, with 200,000 head revealed in the first trimester.
Australian industry officials are expecting to potentially export 600,000 head of cattle for 2016 but say an announcement on the second stanza has not yet been made by Indonesian officials.
The Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council has refused to comment on the current speculation of a pending announcement of 250,000 head with the second trimester due to start next week.
But Elders International general manager Cameron Hall said a number of rumours were circulating about a pending announcement but he declined to speculate on an actual number given the innuendo was invariably right or “horribly wrong”.
“There are a whole lot of rumours that it could range from significantly less than that (200,000 head) to a bit above that number but nothing’s clear on that at the moment,” he said.
Mr Hall said his company’s import customers had already lodged cattle permit applications to be processed and administered by Indonesian authorities.
He said Indonesian authorities the decided the total quota allocation and what proportion of that quota would be allocated to each individual importer.
“We wait on receiving that information and it comes pretty quickly once it’s done but we will wait on receiving that information back from our import customers now,” he said.
“The previous trimester was 200,000 head - but we’re not waiting anxiously on this announcement.
“We’ve got our business positioned with shipments into markets at the moment where the vessels won’t return for another two weeks.
“We take that precautionary measure because we understand there have been delays in the past.”
Mr Hall said he was unsure if the news this week about Indonesia issuing $10.5 million in fines against 32 cattle importation and feedlot companies for alleged cartel behaviour, in fixing beef prices in Jakarta markets, would impact any pending announcement on Australian import permits.
Elders Indonesia is one of the companies reported as having been fined in the action but Mr Hall said the accusations of cartels and price fixing in Indonesia were “nothing new” and he anticipated a legal appeal would likely occur.
“The investigations and allegations around cartel conduct have been around since probably mid last year with investigations being undertaken,” he said.
“I think there’s a long way to go to fully understand what the implications or ramifications are of those announcements.
“(But) I suspect there will be appeals against those rulings and it will take some time to really sort itself out.
“At this stage there’s nothing clear around that, other than to say, the decisions and investigations are the responsibility of the Indonesian government and they have a range of responsibilities around implementing their own domestic policies and those sorts of things as well.”
Reports say a decision was made to prosecute the companies last September after beef prices escalated to about $13 per kilogram in July.
Former Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce lobbied the Indonesian government late last year to change the cattle permit system, with support from industry, to increase market stability and to help stabilise beef prices in the nation’s major food export market.
Last year, the new Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lembong lifted cattle imports from Australia to end the year, after third quarter import quotas plunged to 50,000 head - down from 250,000 in the second quarter of 2015.
