Cattle import cut not yet final

The federal government says Indonesia's dramatic cut to Australian cattle imports could be revised. Source: AAP

THE federal government says Indonesia's dramatic cut to Australian cattle imports could be revised.

PARLIAMENTARY secretary Steve Ciobo says Jakarta is still finalising its import quota decision to slash by 80 per cent its cattle intake this quarter, a decision which has shocked Australian exporters.

"It's an informal notification, it applies to all countries, not just Australia," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.Indonesia's trade minister has also said the quota was not final.Rachmat Gobel said the figure of 50,000 head - an 80 per cent drop from last quarter - is for "the first stage" of the third quarter. The end figure is still being evaluated, he says."It could even be 200,000, it could be even more, it could be less too," he told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is seeking talks with Indonesia, Australia's chief live cattle market.He has rejected Labor's claims the decision is linked to recent tensions in the bilateral relationship.Mr Gobel says the Indonesian government is concerned about looking after domestic cattle producers, and lowering the retail beef price.It is evaluating how to give 80 per cent of the market to local producers.The minister said Australian producers had nothing to worry about as long as they had stock to supply as In donesia needed it.But Indonesia would not rush to finalise the quota, he said."This should not be big news," he told reporters."You shouldn't bring Australia's noise to me."The Australia Indonesia Business Council said there were flaws in the Indonesia quota system."The truth is we don't have a system in place, we don't have a system that tells us month by month, quarter by quarter, year by year, what we can expect," council president Debnath Guharoy told Nine Network.Mr Guharoy also pointed to Australia's diplomatic relationship with Indonesia, saying "if it was in great shape I think we'd be better off than we are"."We wouldn't be caught, (we wouldn't be) as surprised as we seem to be."Meanwhile, Labor is demanding answers from the government over claims Indonesia has also cut Australian citrus imports.Industry sources believe Jakarta will no longer issue permits to Australian growers in a move that could also affect carrots, bananas and mangos.Opposition agriculture spokesman Joe l Fitzgibbon wants Mr Joyce to confirm whether that's true.
Source: Cattle import cut not yet final