June 30, 2015 edition

A meeting held last April among members of the Association of Meat Producers and Feedlot Indonesia at the association's office in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, ended in tumult. Calls were made to kick out members for introducing harmful fattening substances into their cattle feed. Executive Director Johny Liano said the growing rift was a serious one. "I have to neutralize this problem if I want the association to survive." he told Tempo on Thursday last week.
The Association of Meat Producers and Feedlot Indonesia (Apfindo) is an organization of breeders who import cattle feed from Australia. Their goal is to fatten cattle from 250 kilograms to 450 kilograms within a span of three to four months before they are slaughtered for sale.

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More Economy articles in other editions

June 23, 2015 edition

FRIDAY morning three weeks ago was the last time Lenny Sugihat chaired a meeting of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) as its CEO. Twenty-odd attendees were present at the room on the first floor of the corporation's headquarters in Jalan Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, with a single agenda: to finalize plans for establishing a National Food Agency.

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June 16, 2015 edition

After four years at the branch office of Orix Indonesia Finance in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Hana Farida has begun to feel something is amiss. Whereas she used to process were lease applications, now it seems all she receives are 'accounts-receivable' forms. "The flow of work is still the same, but the type of work is far different," Hana said two weeks ago.
In April 2011, Hana was there for the coal and crude palm oil export boom, when dozens of credit applications for the purchase of heavy equipment landed on her desk each week. In early 2014, as mining and plantation commodity prices began to fall, however, things began to change.

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June 9, 2015 edition

Pelindo II Director Richard Joost Lino was in Hamburg, Germany, when the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) called him on Friday two weeks ago. He was summoned for questioning as a witness in a case of alleged corruption in the development of paddy fields projects.

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June 2, 2015 edition

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti looks on the verge of an outburst. Her face is flushed. She keeps turning right and left trying to find out who is saying what. She has just been shouted down by several fishing industry businessmen.
Dozens from the United Fishermen Front from Central Java are lambasting Susi's policies in front President Joko Widodo at the Palace early last April.

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May 26, 2015 edition

A Belated And Non-impactful S&p Positive Outlook
In normal times, markets usually respond in a measured and rational way. But when Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Thursday last week raised Indonesia's outlook from stable to positive, investors treated it as another ordinary day. Jakarta Composite Index did not budge, just up 0.4 percent that day. rupiah also hardly moved, up to Rp13,136 per US dollar from Rp13,150 the day before.

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May 19, 2015 edition

Rows of concrete posts stood in paddy fields in Klitik village, Ngawi, East Java. Their yellow color has begun to fade. On one side can be seen the number 2014, marking the year of installation. "Last year they replaced the posts. Previously it was not made of concrete," said Klitik village chief, Jumirin, in late April.
Klitik village will be crossed by the Solo-Ngawi-Kertosono motorway. Of the six hectares required, five hectares have been fitted with these yellow posts. This means the land has been purchased in full by the government, since 2012 to 2013. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo inaugurated the initiation of the 177-kilometer highway construction on May 1. He gave two and a half years for the contractor to complete the construction.

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