PARTS of the live export industry
are once again at a standstill after Indonesia unexpectedly dusted off old
rules governing the importation of breed stock from Australia.
Industry representatives from both
countries are understood to be locked in high-level talks, with cattle stranded
and companies struggling to get to grips with the changed regulatory regime.
Shipments by at least one major
exporter have stalled, while a senior industry figure predicted no more breed
stock would leave Australia bound for Indonesia until the dispute was resolved.
The problems arose in the wake of
disagreements between import/export companies and Indonesian Customs over
whether the Indonesian government's new 5 per cent import tariff on cattle
imported from Australia for slaughter should also apply to certain breeding
animals.
The Australian has been told Indonesian Customs used rules hitherto
ignored to claim the breed stock were, in fact, animals for slaughter,
unexpectedly rejecting documentation of a type that had previously been
routinely approved.
Luke Bowen, executive director of
the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, said the Indonesian government
was now requiring individual "certificates of pedigree" - records of
each animal's parentage - whereas previously it had accepted more general
information about the herd.
"The industry understands that
the director-general of livestock in the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has
requested independent certificates of pedigree for all cattle to be exported
(to Indonesia) for breeding," he said.
Senior cattle industry figures said
they were keen to avoid antagonising Indonesia when relations were already
tense, suggesting the problems might have arisen out of a misunderstanding.
But cattlemen described the changes
as "ridiculous", because most animals raised in northern Australia
live in large herds where any given cow could have been serviced by one of a
number of bulls.
They said detailed parentage
information was normally required only for stud animals, and could not be
obtained for current stock without costly DNA testing.
About 2000 breeding cows that
arrived in Indonesia on Monday have not yet been released to the Indonesian
importer by Indonesian authorities, while about 2000 more animals are stranded
on the outskirts of Darwin because the necessary export permits cannot now be
obtained, according to their owner, the North Australian Cattle Company.
If the dispute goes unresolved, it
could prevent Australia sending breed stock to Indonesia in the future, shaving
a further 10 per cent off the already much-reduced live cattle trade.
Australian breed stock is an
important component in Indonesia's push to build its herd towards beef
self-sufficiency, on which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has staked his
reputation.
Ashley James, manager of the North
Australian Cattle Company, said Indonesia's request was almost impossible to
implement.
"When you've got stations that
are running 30,000 head of cattle, it just can't be done," he said.
"There's no way of knowing exactly which bull joined with which heifer to
produce which cow."
Last month Indonesia shocked the
live export industry by imposing a retrospective 5 per cent duty on cattle
imported for slaughter.
Some saw the move in part as
retribution for Australia's sudden ban on live exports last year.
The Australian
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