We were not the biggest fans of former Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel, who initiated the minimarket beer ban, said used clothing can give you AIDS and slashed the number of cows Indonesia imported from Australia, causing beef prices to skyrocket up to Rp 120,000 per kilogram (from the usual price of Rp 80,000/kg).
So we were not sorry to see him get shuffled out of office last week when President Joko Widodo announced a new lineup of six new ministers, including Rachmat’s replacement, Thomas Lembong.
We still don’t know much about Lembong, but one of the new Trade Minister’s first initiatives will apparently be to reverse the government’s beef import policy in an attempt to stabilize the price of the key hamburger ingredient.
“Throughout the rest of the year, we might be able to import 200,000 to 300,000 more heads. We’ve made the agreements and are going through the process,” Lembong told Tempo today.
Lembong said increasing imports were essential for the government to combat speculators that are hoarding beef and causing prices to rise.
“We are ready to flood the market, so that those who are hoarding beef think twice. Because when we flood the market, prices will fall and those who are hoarding it will suffer heavy financial losses,” Lembong said.
If he can make sure we can keep eating steak at a reasonable price, we’ll definitely become fans of this new trade minister. But if Lembong can somehow manage to repeal the minimarket beer ban, we’ll become his biggest fans ever.
