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Indonesia plans to import 1 million dairy cows from 2025 to 2028 in a move to increase milk production needed for the president’s free meals programme, according to agriculture ministry data presented at a parliamentary hearing.
The free meals programme for 83 million people was a key election promise of President Prabowo Subianto, who took office last month.
The ministry data showed the programme would need 3.6 million tonnes of milk when running at full scale in 2029, bringing total national demand to 8.5 million tonnes.


“The programme to increase milk and beef production aims to support the strategic programme of the cabinet, namely free meals,” Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman told the parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.
This year, Indonesia’s milk output is estimated at 1 million tonnes, while demand is estimated at 4.7 million tonnes.
With the imported dairy cows, the government expects milk output in 2029 would reach 8.17 million tonmes, the presentation showed.
Potential sources of the dairy cows include Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, US and Mexico, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is also preparing more measures to boost purchasing power, as a spate of factory closures and job cuts weakened consumption and slowed economic growth last quarter.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.95 per cent in the three months through September from a year earlier, the country’s statistics agency announced on Tuesday. That marks the slowest quarterly pace since the 4.94 per cent expansion posted in the same period a year ago.
President Prabowo is aiming to boost growth to as high as 8 per cent during his five-year term at the helm of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. He hand-picked on Tuesday several veterans of previous administrations to act as his economic advisers. Ex-Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and ex-Finance Minister Chatib Basri will sit in the newly set up National Economic Council, reporting to Luhut Pandjaitan, a former senior minister who drove Indonesia’s ambitions to become a battery and electric vehicle maker.
After the council’s meeting with the president on Tuesday discussing the latest GDP data, Pangestu said that the government is planning policies to revive the purchasing power of the middle-class that could be implemented this quarter. “Food prices are relatively high, and we are worried that inflation will rise if oil prices increase,” she said.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that the fourth-quarter growth print could be much better as the government plans to roll out incentives for investment into labor-intensive sectors. He reiterated that full-year GDP growth would likely come in around 5 per cent.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


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The government forecasts milk demand will hit 8.5 million tonnes by 2029. Indonesia’s current milk output is estimated at 1 million tonnes


The government forecasts milk demand will hit 8.5 million tonnes by 2029. Indonesia’s current milk output is estimated at 1 million tonnes.


Indonesia to import 1 million dairy cows for Prabowo’s free meals scheme

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The government forecasts milk demand will hit 8.5 million tonnes by 2029. Indonesia’s current milk output is estimated at 1 million tonnes

The government forecasts milk demand will hit 8.5 million tonnes by 2029. Indonesia’s current milk output is estimated at 1 million tonnes