REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government plans to import 200,000-300,000 live cows in the fourth quarter of this year in a bid to create stability in beef price.

In the third quarter of this year imports total only 50,000 cows ready for slaughtering.

The plan is still to be discussed as "we are still counting the stock," acting foreign trade director general Karyanto Suprih said here on Tuesday.

Suprih said the government has yet to decide whether the imports are to be made by the state run Board of Logistics (Bulog) or offered to private companies.

"We would want the government do the importing itself through Bulog," he said.

Recently Bulog was licensed to import 50,000 live cows ready for slaughtering, to keep the beef price from soaring higher.

Soaring price of beefs has caused big uproar in the country with police going after speculators.

"We are still discussing ti with Bulog. Bulog itself is yet to carry out its assignment to import 50,000 live cows," Suprih said.

Beef price has soared to as high as Rp140,000 per kg more than tripled price in neighboring countries.

Suprih said it is also yet to be decided whether the 300,000 cows to be imports are feedlot cows or ones ready for slaughtering.

Trade Minister Thomas Lembong was reluctant to comment on the plan to import cows from Australia.

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