Indonesia fears economic hit after banning live animal imports from China over coronavirus fears
- China is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and top export destination – with US$28 billion in exports last year alone
- Just US$314,295 worth of live animals – which experts warn are a health hazard – came the other way over the same time period, however
China is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and top export destination – with US$28 billion in exports last year alone. China also accounted for 30 per cent of Indonesia’s imports last year, which were valued at US$44.9 billion.
Food and drink manufacturers are especially worried about supplies of garlic, chilli and salt, given the limited supply of those items that were available over the Lunar New Year period.
In fact, shortages of garlic caused its price to skyrocket more than 40 per cent to 50,000 rupiah (US$3.65) from around 35,000 rupiah a week earlier, according to media reports
Indonesia imported just US$314,295 worth of live animals from China last year, according to Adhi Lukman, head of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Industry Association, compared to 465 million tonnes – or US$530 million’s worth – of garlic, official statistics show.
