Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan stated that milk importers will be allowed to import on grounds that they have purchased milk from local sources and received the Ministry of Agriculture’s approval.
“Milk can be imported if they (importers) also purchase milk from local sources because milk imports, as regulated by the Minister of Trade, must have a recommendation from the Minister of Agriculture,” Minister Hasan stated in Boyolali, Central Java, Tuesday.
He revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture will now be involved in dairy cows’ milk imports to Indonesia. Importers can only bring in milk from other countries after being permitted by the agriculture minister.
“Hence, now, we will start involving the minister of agriculture regarding the approval of milk imports only if the importer has been proven to buy milk from local sources,” he remarked.
Hence, Hasan urged that factories or importers found to bring in imported milk without purchasing local milk should be reported to the relevant ministry.
“If there is milk from local sources and no factory or importer wants to buy it, (then) please report it right away. Do not take a bath first; report it first. Report it first, and if nothing is done, then you can bathe in milk,” he stated in a lighter vein while referring to the milk bath carried out by dairy farmers and milk collectors in Boyolali recently.
The milk bath was a form of protest as the dairy processing industry was reluctant to purchase all the local milk produced by farmers. As a result, large amounts of milk were wasted every day, as it was not absorbed by the industry.
On the same occasion, Acting Governor of Central Java, Nana Sudjana, stated that the dairy processing industry must be willing to procure milk from local farmers.
“They are also expected to be mentors for the farmers, and we will continue to monitor this process. We hope that the issue of marketing will be followed up as soon as possible,” he remarked.
Sudjana made assurance that he would continue to monitor the local milk issue. In addition, his side is working to improve the quality of livestock and dairy cows in Central Java, including in Boyolali.
