Indonesia Lifts Ban on New Zealand Beef Imports, Group Says
By Yoga Rusmana
June 8 (Bloomberg) — Indonesia, Asia’s third-most populous
country, lifted a ban on imports of beef from New Zealand after
clerics clarified that the meat conforms to Islamic dietary laws.
“We have received a letter today from the director general
of livestock at the Ministry of Agriculture saying he has lifted
the ban,” Thomas Sembiring, executive director of the
Indonesian Meat Importer Association, said by telephone.
Tjeppy Soedjana, Indonesia’s director general of livestock,
confirmed the decision in a text message to Bloomberg News when
asked about the cancellation of the import ban.
Indonesia banned imports of beef from New Zealand after the
Council of Ulemas, or MUI, said in March it doesn’t recognize
any certifying bodies in New Zealand that can give an assurance
that the meat is halal, or conforms to Islamic dietary laws,
Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said June 4.
“MUI issued a letter last Friday to clarify that until the
new halal certification rules are put into effect on Oct. 1, all
imported beef from Australia and New Zealand that were
slaughtered before and after March 25 are halal,” Sembiring
said today, citing the letter from the MUI.
Muhammad Nadratuzzaman Hosen, director at MUI, could not be
reached when called at his office to confirm the letter.
Australia and New Zealand are the two biggest suppliers of
beef and beef products to Indonesia. The nation imports more
than 60,000 metric tons of beef from the two countries annually,
Sembiring said.
Indonesia on July 7 last year banned imports of New Zealand
beef over what it said was improper labeling. The ban was lifted
a week later after New Zealand’s promise to improve packaging.
The Southeast Asian nation, which has the world’s largest
Muslim population, imports beef to supplement local output.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Yoga Rusmana in Jakarta at
yrusmana@bloomberg.net.
Indonesia clears halal Aussie, NZ beef
- June 9, 2009 – 10:49AM
Indonesia’s beef with Aussie and Kiwi beef has come to an end.
Indonesia
has released more than 100 containers of Australian and New Zealand
beef held at a Jakarta port for nearly three weeks amid concerns it did
not meet Islamic halal standards.
Quarantine
authorities impounded the meat after Indonesia’s top Muslim body, the
Islamic Ulema Council (MUI), sent them a letter saying the beef did not
meet its new halal standards.
But it has since
become clear that the MUI’s letter was just a warning that new halal
standards would come into force in October.
The agriculture
department has now instructed officials to release the containers and
to let future Australian and New Zealand beef imports into the country
without fuss.
Indonesia requires all beef imports to be
halal – taken from cattle slaughtered in a manner deemed suitable for
consumption by Muslims.
