AFTER issuing two cattle import permit allocations so far in 2025, the Indonesian Government has made the surprise move of lifting quota restrictions on live cattle imports altogether.

Australian cattle on feed in Indonesia.

Importers are now permitted to bring in live cattle without quota limits for various purposes, including supporting the livestock industry and meeting public consumption needs.

The move highlights the importance the Indonesian Government under president Prabowo Subianto is placing on strengthening national food security. The President last week told the Indonesian media that food security will remain his Government’s priority in the first two to three years of his term.

The decision to remove quota restrictions also signals the value the Indonesian Government sees in live cattle imports in supporting the employment of local people, buying commodities from farmers and bolstering local fresh beef supply in Indonesia.

There has been no corresponding move to lift quotas for imports of boxed beef or Indian Buffalo Meat.

The ruling was made by one of the most senior and influential figures in the Indonesian Government, the Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan.

The move would ensure the availability of meat and milk supplies and strengthen national food security, he told Indonesian media during the commemoration of Nusantara Milk Day 2025 in Jakarta on Sunday.

The government was encouraging domestic entrepreneurs, cooperatives, individuals, and foreign companies to invest in cattle breeding in Indonesia, he added.

It also comes after Indonesia announced that imports of cattle from Brazil – recently declared free of FMD with vaccination – and New Zealand would also be allowed into the country.

Australian beef cattle industry sources have told Beef Central that permits have not been a key limiting factor on trade so far this year, with commercial terms of trade the more pressing constraint.

However, some of the newer and smaller importers would welcome the removal of permit limitations.

Longer term it is also seen as a positive for the Australian cattle trade to Indonesia by removing past issues of waiting for permits to be released and the conditions that can additionally be placed on the permits.

One said it was important to see an “actionable decree” that overrides former decrees and the limitations and conditions to ensure those positives can be realised.

A primary issue for the Australian cattle trade to Indonesia at present is the relatively fragile state of the Indonesian economy, which is slowing down and purchasing power is also weakened, according to a recent study by the Institute for Demographic and Affluence Studies (IDEAS).