REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Agriculture Ministry diverted 8,110 tons of imported beef for catering service, hotels and restaurants to consumers in efforts to stabilize beef price hikes in the current fasting month and post-fasting festivities, or Lebaran.

"The 8,110 tons of beef brought by 10 importers are equal to 47 thousand heads of cattle and will be released to the market in the coming two weeks. The operations commenced last Thursday," Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman told a press conference Monday.

The minister called the press conference to explain the government's evaluation on the smoothness of its beef imports to stabilize prices during the fasting month and Lebaran.

Importers were instructed to allocate their beef to consumers in order to bring down soaring beef prices in the market, Amran said.

To compensate the importers for the 8,110 tons of beef that was allocated to consumers, the government will replace them with a recommendation for them to import another one.

Agriculture Ministerial Decree No. 139/2014 on Carcass, Meat and Processed Meat regulates that imported meat for industrial need may not be sold to the market.

"This is at the discretion of the government. We will replace the beef that is diverted to the public with immediate recommended meat imports," he said.

The price of beef sold in the market will be below the government's target of Rp80 thousand per kilo gram (kg), Amran assured.

"It is frozen meat but is of good quality. It will be sold at between Rp70 thousand and Rp77 thousand per kg," he said.

Importers will profit even though the beef is sold at a lower price, he said.

The beef is sold through market operations massively assisted by the Indonesia Farmers Shop (TTI) organization, state-owned PT Berdikari Company and a number of cooperatives. The market operations will take place across the country, with the main focus in the Jabodetabek (Jakarta and its buffer towns of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bakasi) areas.

The 10 importers who are involved in the market operations to distribute the imported beef are Artha Graha Peduli, PT Agro Boga Utama, PT Indoguna Utama, and PT Estetika Tata Tiara, in addition to PT Bumi Maestro Ayu, PT Suri Nusantara Jaya, PT Anzindo Gratia Nasional, and PT Berkat Mandiri Prima. PT Bina Mentari Tunggal and PT Rita Jaya Beef, make up the ten.

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