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Consumption of beef remains low across the country of 240 million at about 2 kilograms per person on average, with chicken and fish the main sources of protein. The beef price hikes will mostly affect people in cities and would likely lead to less public protest than sharp increases in the other targeted commodities. But by continuing to drive prices higher, many small family farms, with herds of less than 10 cattle, may also be tempted to sell all their animals, including breeding stock, to capitalize on large profits, he said. This would work against the goal of producing more domestic cattle over time even as it pushed prices ever higher. "This is not the way food security would be achieved," Kwiecinski said. "This is further contrasting with the objective of meeting consumers' demand and satisfying food requirements by the population." Self-sufficiency is not simply about having enough cattle, but adequate facilities and infrastructure must also exist to distribute the herd across the world's largest archipelago nation, consisting of more than 17,000 islands, said Khudori, an agriculture and husbandry analyst from the country's Political Economic Association. Many Indonesians go by one name. Getting beef to markets can take months as it passes from local traders to inter-island traders to retailers. "Given the lack of supply, we need a huge volume of imports to stabilize the price," said Thomas Sembiring, chairman of Indonesia's Beef Importers Association. "It is now the government that controls the price," he said. "But it blames importers over the fluctuation."
The situation is further worsened by rampant corruption, poor infrastructure and excessive government red tape, which all contribute to rising prices, he said. And while garlic and shallots are not part of the self-sufficiency plan, both are potentially plagued by illegal business dealings. The Business Competition Supervisory Commission, a government watchdog organization, said Monday that numerous importers had conspired to hold hundreds of containers of imported garlic and shallots at a port in Surabaya, East Java, until shortages drove prices sky high. "Domestically, we're not ready to enhance productivity, resulting in a supply shortage," Commissioner Syarkawi Rauf said at a news conference. "And this is what speculators are trying to take advantage of." The price of chilies has been affected mainly due to poor domestic crops, partially blamed on flooding. But bakso seller Hidayat says he doesn't care what's to blame. His family depends on the $10 he earns every day serving up his famous soup, and he prays prices for all its ingredients will soon go back to normal so he can get back to work. "It's bad enough to fall off a ladder, but then you get hit by the falling ladder too," he said, quoting an old Indonesian saying. "We are being hit twice," he said. "It's hard for us and we can't stand this situation any longer."
[Associated
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