Indonesia ramps up its US$3B dairy plan with Australian cow imports

INDONESIA – The agriculture officials of Indonesia have announced that the country has imported 1,383 more cows from Australia this week, as part of a US$3 billion plan to woo small farmers to join efforts to quadruple dairy output.

The imported herd will be distributed across selected farms and cooperatives, with a strong emphasis on supporting smallholder farmers.

Authorities have highlighted that the program is designed not only to increase production capacity but also to empower rural communities by providing access to improved genetics, training, and modern dairy practices.

“These cattle are not only an addition to the population,” Agung ​Suganda, the ministry’s director general of livestock and animal health, said in a ‍statement. “They are a strategic investment to strengthen the foundation of national milk production from smallholder farms.”

The centrepiece of a free meals programme covering 83 million children and expectant mothers, the plan calls for imports of a ⁠million ‌dairy cows over five ⁠years to boost numbers from 220,000 now.

The ministry said the cattle imports comprised joint shipments and breeding, involving ‍cooperatives and farmers since last year, with their milk yield set to flow into the processing industry ​to ensure certainty of supply.

The latest shipment of dairy cows faces quarantine and disease ⁠checks in the city of Cilacap in the province of central Java, said Hendra ⁠Wibawa, an animal health official at the ministry.

“To ensure safety, a 14-day quarantine period will be … followed by sample collection to detect diseases such as lumpy skin disease and ⁠foot-and-mouth disease,” he added.

Indonesia lifts quotas on live cattle to support the growth of its dairy sector

In 2025, the Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, announced that Indonesia officially lifted its import quotas on live cattle in a strategic move to bolster national food security and revitalize the dairy sector.

The government expects this liberalisation to enhance the resilience of domestic supply chains and improve production outcomes across the livestock and dairy industries.

The removal of import limits is also intended to support the domestic dairy processing industry, enabling increased production and improved product quality in line with rising national demand.

“We’re now fully opening up live cattle imports, whether for beef, fattening, or dairy purposes. It’s unrestricted. There are no more quotas,” Zulkifli said.

The policy aligns closely with the broader food security strategy of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, particularly the implementation of a nationwide free school meal programme.

This initiative, which targets children and young people, has sharply increased demand for milk and meat, making it essential to ensure a stable and affordable supply, experts claimed.

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