Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Tereza Cristina announced the approval following talks between her and Indonesian Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman that took place in May. The deal is expected to allow for the export of more than 25,000 tonnes of beef to Indonesia.
“We have received the good news of this achievement. Ten Brazilian refrigeration plants will be ready for this export. This is good for our GDP, it is good for our farmer, who has more people buying meat to export, it is good for our refrigerators that can continue to create jobs.”
She outlined that during her meeting with Sulaiman, Cristina explained how Brazil would be able to meet the demand for Indonesian animal protein, particularly beef. Brazilian beef was touted as being an alternative and cheaper supplier to Australian meat, where most of the meat consumed in Indonesia comes from.
Indonesia had previously visited Brazilian meat businesses as part of a technical mission in April 2018.
In a statement, processor Minerva revealed that it runs five of the 10 plants approved to export meat to Indonesia. The Minerva certified plants are: José Bonifácio, Rolim de Moura, Araguaína, Mirassol d'Oeste and Palmeiras de Goiás.
Minerva also explained the opportunity that the country represents. “With approximately 260 million inhabitants, Indonesia stands out as one of the largest Halal meat consuming markets in the world. In 2018, Indonesia was responsible for importing approximately 150,000 tons of beef, being Australia responsible for supply nearly 40% of this total.”