A POSSIBLE link with public and private sector in Indonesia is seen to strengthen the livestock, particularly cattle, industry of Negros Occidental.
Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, who met with representatives of Unimax Inc. from Indonesia at the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Bacolod City Tuesday, January 14, said they are looking at a possible partnership for a cattle fattening project with the private company.
Decena said this is aside from the possible sisterhood agreement of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental with that of Lampung Province, Indonesia.
“We will formally discuss this with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson next week,” he said, adding that “we can have a business proposal for both provinces.”
The provincial veterinarian pointed out that the feed ingredients in the province, as well as the beef, are cheaper by about 35 percent compared to Indonesia.
“From sugarcane, one of our diversified industries is beef cattle especially Halal type,” Decena said, adding that “they may fatten their cattle here and export this to Indonesia as meat.”
It can be recalled that both public and private sector in Negros Occidental have been initiating measures to strengthen the cattle industry of the province.
One of which was holding a seminar on “Cattle Fattening and Marketing” last year.
This part of the measures to get the stakeholders, especially local raisers, ready towards developing the “Negros Beef” and position the province as the center of cattle production in the Visayas.
PVO earlier reported that the demand for beef in the province is 8,850 metric tons at per capita consumption of 2.95 kilogram.
The available supply, meanwhile, is only 5,000 metric tons from current population of about 55,000 heads thus, there is deficiency of cattle meat in the province, it added.