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Ag News -
International Ag News
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Thursday, 26 April 2012 07:25 |
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia says it is suspending
imports of U.S beef following the discovery of mad cow disease in an
American dairy cow.
Vice Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan said Thursday the ban would be lifted after the U.S. government confirms all farms are free of mad cow, which can cause a deadly brain disease in humans. Heriawan
says U.S. beef last year accounted for 20,000 tons — or 20 percent of
Indonesia's overall imports. The gap will temporarily be filled by
exports from Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Even before the
new discovery, Indonesia said it wanted to reduce its dependency on beef
imports, with the ultimate goal of becoming self sufficient. Its goal was to cut beef imports by 30 percent this year. |