Indonesia to allow unlimited live cattle imports, scraps quotas

JAKARTA - Indonesia will allow the unlimited importation of live cattle in an effort to curb domestic beef price rises, the country's trade minister said on Friday, abandoning an annual import quota system that has hit imports from suppliers such as Australia.

The move should boost the cattle and beef trade in Australia, the world's No.3 beef exporter.

"I have signed the new ready-to-slaughter cattle regulation and we have allowed importers to import...with no limits, to stabilise beef prices," Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan told reporters. "They (importers) can import at any volume or number that the market needs," he added.