INDUSTRY officials are awaiting formal announcement of Indonesian live cattle export numbers for 2016 in coming days, after confirmed changes to import permit arrangements.
As many as 200,000 head of cattle could be exported from Australia to Indonesia in the first four months of 2016 and potentially 600,000 for the full year.
Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce both visited Jakarta late last year to lobby the Indonesian government to change from the traditional quarterly permit system to annual announcements.
Industry also supported that move to increase market and industry stability and for stabilising Indonesian beef prices but all parties must now be content with cattle quotas being announced every four months.
Australian Live Exporters Council CEO Alison Penfold said the permits would be issued on a trimester basis rather than on a quarterly basis and the process of issuing permits had now commenced.
Ms Penfold said letters of recommendation had been issued to cattle importers by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture.
She said importers took the letters of recommendation to the Ministry of Trade which issued permits against the letters which also contained the number of cattle assigned to the importer.
The importers then provide the permits to exporters so that they can apply to the Australian Federal Department of Agriculture and Water for approval to export, she said.
But Ms Penfold said the number of cattle set to be exported from Australia to Indonesia via the new permit system was “still speculative”.
“Nothing official has been provided in terms of the annual number or number for the first trimester,” she said.
Ms Penfold also told ABC Radio that the move to trimester arrangements was “certainly progress”.
"Ultimately what we have been pushing for is for the annual numbers to be announced several months before the start of the permit year,” she said.
"That gives us an opportunity to plan the logistics around the export year to Indonesia.
“I will continue to work with officials in Indonesia to try to improve the timeliness of the process - again as we have argued previously, this timing forces the market into a spot buying process, which is not necessarily best for all participants along the supply chain.”
Reports have suggested Indonesia could potentially import 700,000 head of cattle from Australia this year.
But WA Livestock Exporters Association (WALEA) chairman Harold Sealy told Fairfax Agricultural Media it was too early to speculate the figures.
“It a matter of wait and see at this stage,” he said.
“We have to see what we get but I have no doubt there have been conversations about it.
“All exporters will be talking to importers about what's happening and trying to get a handle on what they are hearing.”
During his visit to Jakarta in October last year to meet with ministry officials, Mr Joyce said he argued the case for moving away from the quarterly quota system to annual announcements, to help stabilise domestic beef prices in Indonesia.
He said the best way to achieve lower beef prices which Indonesian officials also wanted was to have longer quotas “so people can’t game the system”.
“If they can see a juncture, they can create a fear factor and say ‘there may not be any more meat after that quota’ and, therefore, the price goes up,” he said.
“But the prices don’t go up because of supply - they go up because of fear.
“Those people close to senior levels of government in Indonesia understand that very, very well and they’re vastly more inclined towards annual quotas, not just on beef but on anything.”
