When Barack Obama visited Indonesia in 2010, he tucked in to a steaming bowl of meatball broth, known as bakso, served to remind him of his childhood in Jakarta. But the U.S. president may be out of luck if he wants another helping on a visit next year.
Bakso sellers, normally street vendors with pushcarts, are struggling to afford beef and on Thursday took the novel step of pelting the trade ministry building with meatballs in protest against prices doubling due to sharp restrictions on meat imports.
These curbs are part of a grand plan for the world's fourth most populous nation to become self-sufficient in key food commodities, but the result so far has only been lower supply and surging prices.
"There's no meat in the market. Maybe we'll have bakso tomorrow," said Gerang, sitting next to a chained up soup tureen at his empty bakso stand near Obama's old school in the exclusive Jakarta district of Menteng.
The two other bakso stalls in the area have already disappeared, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government slashed 2012 import quotas for live cattle by over a third and beef by nearly two-thirds.
Next year quotas will be cut by another 30 percent for cattle and 6 percent for beef, even as consumption is seen rising 13 percent.
And beef stocks are dwindling, with officials saying Jakarta has run out of its annual import quota for the meat.
Some bakso sellers have been making up for the lack of beef with pork, considered an outrage in the world's most populous Muslim nation, as well as other unsavoury items.
"I stopped eating bakso two weeks ago after I found a small tail in my soup. I vomited right after that. I thought it was only an urban legend, but it happened to me," said Rudi Afriansyah, a diner at a food stall in Jakarta.
Indonesia has been partly protected from the global economic downturn in recent years by its domestic production of commodities such as palm oil and rice, creating calls by nationalist politicians for even greater self-reliance.
This has also led to taxes on imports of wheat flour, corn and soybeans. Last month Yudhoyono put domestic output and control of imports at the heart of a new food law, signalling further policies regulating trade in commodities are likely.
"Food should be available and affordable, but now it is not available and not affordable. It will get worse because they are trying to achieve self-sufficiency," said Thomas Sembiring, executive director of the Indonesian Meat Importers Association.
HOLY COW
The moves are affecting Australia as the top exporter of beef and live cattle to neigbouring Indonesia. The Australian Livestock Export council's chief Alison Penfold said exports were now significantly lower to Indonesia and farmers were pursuing other markets to make up for the loss.
"The Indonesian government has an admirable goal ... but is trying to force this goal by restricting imports from Australia," said David Farley, managing director of major beef cattle firm Australian Agricultural Company, in a commentary in the Jakarta Post newspaper this week.
"A more measured policy would be to increase collaboration with the Australian beef industry to supply Indonesia with the cattle and technical expertise it needs."
Indonesia's local beef output is forecast to rise to 449,000 tonnes in 2013, but this still leaves a shortfall as beef consumption is seen climbing at the same rate to 549,000 tonnes, with chains such as Burger King and local steak houses like Holycow spreading to cater to a burgeoning middle class.
"Self-sufficiency in beef is not rational. They should look for self-sufficiency in other commodities but not in beef. An additional 1 kg per capita per year will need an additional 1.5 million cattle ... and it takes four years to calf in cattle before slaughter," said Sembiring.
