JAKARTA - The National Dairy Council (DPN) has requested for a subsidy on the purchase price of dairy cows from the government to increase the competitiveness of national dairy farmers. With the subsidy, the contribution of dairy farmers to the national economy will increase.
Teguh Budiana, Chair of DPN said that the proposed subsidy is Rp 20 million per cow, about 50% of the price of imported cows. However, the number of cows to be imported depends on the government's plan to boost the dairy farming business.
According to him, at present, local dairy farmers have only been able to meet less than 20% of the national milk needs. "The total milk consumption is approximately 10,000 tons per day," said him on Archipelago Milk Day yesterday (1/6).
Approximately 80% of national milk needs are fulfilled with imports. Among ASEAN countries, Indonesia's milk consumption per capita is the lowest. In addition, he said that milk business could be one of the sectors that can absorb workforce in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. (LK/AR)