Indonesia Declares Self-Sufficiency in Sheep and Goats

RRI.CO.ID, Tangerang - The Indinesian Ministry of Agriculture announced that the country has halted imports of sheep and goats, citing a national sheep population that reached 9.15 million head in 2025.

Director General of Livestock and Animal Health Services at the ministry, Agung Suganda, explained that the growing population has enabled the government to reduce reliance on imports.

“Our national sheep population has reached 9.15 million. Alhamdulillah, for almost a year now we have stopped importing sheep and goats,” he said at the Indo Livestock Expo & Forum in Tangerang on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

While imports have largely ceased, Agung noted that limited imports remain open to meet specific demand for premium products in the hotel, restaurant, and catering sector. Domestic production, he added, has not yet fully met the needs of this market segment.

The ministry emphasized that Indonesia can now declare self-sufficiency in sheep and goat meat, with imports accounting for less than 10 percent of national demand.

“Imports are already below 10 percent, and we continue to reduce them. This is why we can declare self-sufficiency,” Agung said.

For the first half of 2026, the government has allowed small volumes of premium-quality imports, but Agung stressed that the long-term goal is to boost local production.

He urged livestock associations and businesses to expand capacity and improve quality so that domestic farmers can fully supply national demand.

Indonesia’s achievement adds to its earlier success in poultry and egg self-sufficiency. “We are encouraging exports, and soon colleagues will see how Indonesian entrepreneurs have adopted modern butchering systems, enabling the domestic production of all types of sheep and goat meat,” he concluded. (Diva Rifdah)