TEMPO.CO, Perth - Australia is waiting for Indonesias decision on the import quota of cows for the rest of the year. "We are still awaiting the Indonesian governments announcement regarding cows to be exported to the country. In the first quarter, we sent some 250 thousand heads. Since then, we received no certain figure with regard to the quota," said Director of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Limited Richard Norton in Australia, Thursday.

Norton added that in 2014, Indonesia had specified a quota of 730 thousand heads to Australia.

"If the Indonesian government announces the quota earlier and routinely, we can be better prepared and prices can be lower," he explained.

As the Indonesian government now functions under the authority of a new nationalistic president, it is likely that he will change the policy on the import of cows from Australia, he remarked.

"Indonesia is the worlds biggest importer of cows from Australia. Even when we combine the imports of live and slaughtered cows, Indonesia is our biggest export market," he said.

MLA is an organization that deals with marketing, research and development of the red meat industry and Australian cattle.

It is funded by the federal government from taxes levied on every traded cow and sheep.

Each cow is taxed AUS$5, while each sheep is taxed AUS$2. Funds from these taxes are used to finance marketing, research and development of the red meat industry and Australian cattle.

According to a press release from the MLA in May 2015, in 2014, slaughtered cow meat from Australia met 15 percent of the meat consumption in Indonesia, while live cattle supply from the country met 35 percent of it.

Indonesia imports 76,647 tons of cow meat from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Around 78 percent of the cow meat imports are supplied by Australia.

In 2014, the value of Australias cow exports to Indonesia reached AUS$883 million, or Rp9.3 trillion, which is the highest recorded value.

ANTARA News