How to Import Meat and Animal Products to Indonesia

Planning to supply imported beef, dairy products, or other animal products to Indonesia? Before you agree on a shipment, you need to establish whether Indonesia accepts the product, its country of origin, and the facility that produces it.

From there, the process depends on what you are importing and how you will sell it. Frozen beef, packaged cheese, and hatching eggs follow different approval routes, even when the same company imports them.

In this article, we will walk you through the licenses, product approvals, import quotas, quarantine procedures, halal requirements, taxes, and timelines for importing meat and animal products to Indonesia.

Which Animal Products Can You Import to Indonesia?

Indonesia permits imports of meat and animal products subject to product restrictions, animal-health requirements, and import licensing. The main categories include fresh and frozen meat, edible offal, dairy products, processed meat, and eggs.

Start by identifying the product’s Indonesian eight-digit HS code. Its composition, processing method, packaging, and intended use determine which approvals you need.

The processed animal products annex includes liquid milk, milk powder, butter, cheese, and specified sausages and prepared meat products. A packaged dairy or meat product can therefore require both a Ministry of Trade import approval and BPOM registration.

Who Can Import Meat and Animal Products?

A foreign investor can establish a PT PMA in Indonesia to conduct permitted importing and distribution activities. The company needs a Business Identification Number, or NIB, and the business licenses associated with its activities.

The importer identification category depends on the business model:

• API-U: for importing goods for trading or distribution.
• API-P: for importing goods for the company’s own production.

Our guide to getting an import license in Indonesia explains how the NIB functions as importer identification and how to prepare your company for importing.

Your company’s KBLI codes describe its business activities, while HS codes classify the goods. Both need to support the proposed transaction, but they serve different purposes.

Meat importers also need suitable storage arrangements. This includes access to cold storage meeting veterinary public-health requirements, with the required Veterinary Control Number, or NKV.

How to Import Meat and Animal Products to Indonesia

1. Confirm the country and establishment are approved

For meat imports, approval of the exporting country does not automatically cover every slaughterhouse or processing plant in that country. The producing establishment must also be accepted for the relevant species and product.

Confirm the establishment number and permitted product scope before signing a supply contract. A plant approved to export one category of meat may not be approved for another. Our guide to foreign supplier establishment approval in Indonesia covers the assessment process and supporting documents.

If the country or establishment is not approved, an additional assessment may involve document review, inspection, and animal-health risk analysis. Please note that a new country approval can take more than a year. Therefore, you should resolve it before arranging any commercial shipments.

2. Obtain the Ministry of Agriculture recommendation

For meat covered by the agricultural recommendation system, the importer applies for a Rekomendasi Pemasukan. The application identifies the importer, product, origin, establishment, quantity, and entry arrangements.

A meat import recommendation is valid for six months. The importer must submit its Ministry of Trade import approval application within three months of the recommendation’s issuance.

These periods relate to meat recommendations. Dairy products, breeding materials, and other animal products need to be assessed under their own requirements.

3. Apply for Ministry of Trade import approval

Products listed as requiring a Persetujuan Impor, or PI, need approval from the Ministry of Trade. Applications pass through the Indonesia National Single Window and INATRADE systems.

The Ministry’s processing period is up to five working days after a complete application reaches the responsible processing officer. Time spent obtaining supporting recommendations or correcting an incomplete submission falls outside that period.

For approvals covered by the extension provisions, an extension can be granted once for up to 30 days. This is intended for qualifying shipment delays, including goods loaded before the approval expired, and requires supporting documents such as the bill of lading or airway bill.

The PI also controls the authorized quantity and shipment period. Additional purchases must remain within that authorization or follow the amendment procedure.

Importers must submit import realization reports electronically, including for reporting periods with no imports; failure to report can lead to administrative sanctions, including suspension of import licensing.

4. Complete BPOM registration for retail processed food

Imported processed food sold in retail packaging must be registered with BPOM unless it falls within a registration exemption. BPOM Regulation 23/2023 governs processed food registration and replaced Regulation 27/2017.

Products such as packaged cheese, yogurt, and sausages can require an imported-food registration number, commonly known as BPOM ML. Complete BPOM registration in Indonesia before shipping the product for commercial distribution.

Labels must be in Indonesian and include the importer’s name and address. Other languages can appear alongside the Indonesian text, and the packaging must match the label approved during registration.

Ingredients imported solely for manufacturing can follow an exemption route when they meet the relevant conditions. Retail packaging and direct sale to consumers can change that treatment.

BPOM registration and shipment clearance are separate requirements. Each shipment also needs the required BPOM import certificate, or SKI.

For processed food under SKI Post Border, the submission deadline is seven calendar days after customs issues the goods release approval, or SPPB. You can also submit the applications before the import declaration.

Keep in mind that the food must retain at least two-thirds of its shelf life when the SKI application is submitted.

5. Prepare the shipment documents and notifications

Before dispatch, the exporter and importer should reconcile the shipment documents against the recommendation, PI, and product registrations.

The document package can include:

• Commercial invoice and packing list.
• Bill of lading or airway bill.
• Veterinary or sanitary health certificate issued by the exporting authority.
• Agricultural recommendation and import approval.
• Halal documentation for products imported as halal.
• Certificate or declaration of origin when claiming preferential duty.
• Surveyor report for tariff lines that require one.

The exporter files the prior notice before departure. Separately, the importer reports the planned arrival to the Indonesian Quarantine Agency, Barantin, before the shipment arrives.

These are two different notifications. Completing the exporter’s prior notice does not replace the importer’s arrival notification.

6. Complete quarantine and customs clearance

Animal products must enter through designated entry points and be presented to quarantine officers. Barantin checks the documents and can inspect, sample, or test the goods before issuing a release.

Where a shipment is detained to complete missing documents, the importer has three working days from receipt of the detention notice to provide them. Goods formally rejected must leave Indonesia within three working days of the rejection.

Failure to resolve the problem can lead to destruction at the owner’s expense. Under Article 86 of Law 21/2019, specified breaches of import health-certificate, entry-point, and reporting obligations carry maximum penalties of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of IDR 10 billion.

Customs clearance involves the import declaration, supporting permits, and payment of duties and import taxes. Quarantine release and customs release must both be completed before the goods enter distribution.

Import Quotas and the Commodity Balance

For beef, buffalo meat, and other products covered by the national commodity balance, or Neraca Komoditas, import volumes are planned around domestic supply and demand. The government sets the annual balance and can revise it during the year, with import approvals tied to the authorized volumes.

Allocation also depends on the importer and the intended market. In 2026, the government allocated most of the beef and buffalo meat import volume to state-owned companies for supply and price stabilization, alongside separate allocations for private importers and industrial needs.

Before committing to a supply contract, confirm whether your product falls within the commodity balance and what volume your company is authorized to import. Company licensing and an approved overseas supplier do not guarantee an allocation.

Special Conditions for Beef from Countries with Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Indonesia has a separate route for specified ruminant products from countries or zones with particular foot-and-mouth disease statuses. Agriculture Regulation 19/2025, as amended, imposes additional animal-health controls on this route.

For beef from countries that are not free of foot-and-mouth disease, the conditions include:

• Boneless meat only.
• Removal of major lymph nodes.
• Maturation for at least 24 hours at a temperature above 2°C.
• A pH below 6.0 in the specified muscle.
• Veterinary inspection and certification meeting Indonesia’s requirements.

Imports under this special route are restricted to assigned state-owned enterprises or other businesses formally designated by the government. An ordinary meat import license does not, by itself, authorize access to this route.

Cold Storage and Shipment Age Requirements

Under the meat import rules, frozen meat must be maintained at a maximum temperature of −18°C and arrive in Indonesia within six months of slaughter. Chilled meat must be maintained at a maximum of 4°C and arrive within three months of slaughter.

Build these limits into the purchase contract and shipping schedule. A delay at the loading port can reduce the remaining arrival window before the cargo reaches Indonesia.

The importer also needs cold storage and refrigerated transport capable of maintaining the required temperatures after release. Dairy products need storage suited to their processing and labeling: milk powder and shelf-stable milk do not follow the same handling conditions as chilled meat.

Halal Requirements for Imported Animal Products

For products imported as halal, check both the foreign certification body and the product’s certificate. Recognition of the foreign halal body and registration of the foreign halal certificate with BPJPH are separate requirements.

The certificate must cover the relevant product and establishment. Slaughter, processing, storage, and transport arrangements must also preserve the product’s halal status.

The government’s 16 October 2026 announcement

On 16 October 2026, the government announced an adjustment to the halal implementation schedule, including a start date of 18 October 2028 for imported food, beverages, slaughter products, and slaughter services. The announcement also referred to changes to implementing rules and foreign certification recognition arrangements.

This announcement does not remove halal documents already required by a meat import approval or veterinary import protocol. Before dispatch, it is advisable to confirm the documents required for the specific product and shipment.

Products made from non-halal ingredients follow separate labeling and segregation requirements. They cannot be marketed or handled as halal products.

Import Duties and Taxes on Animal Products

Import costs depend on the HS code, customs value, origin, and tax treatment. Budget separately for import duty, VAT, and import income tax, alongside freight, cold storage, inspections, and port charges.

Import duty

A 5% most-favored-nation duty applies to many animal-product tariff lines. Examples in Indonesia’s tariff schedule include frozen boneless beef under HS 0202.30.00 and specified milk powder under HS 0402.10.41.

The rate is not uniform. Frozen chicken thighs under HS 0207.14.20, for example, carry a 20% MFN rate.

A trade agreement can reduce the duty. To claim an IA-CEPA preference for Australian goods, the shipment must satisfy the agreement’s rules of origin and documentary requirements; shipment from Australia alone does not establish eligibility.

VAT exemptions

Government Regulation 49/2022 exempts specified basic necessities from VAT, including qualifying:

• Livestock and poultry meat within the listed descriptions and HS codes.
• Unprocessed eggs, including certain cleaned, salted, or preserved eggs, excluding breeding eggs.
• Milk that has been chilled or pasteurized without added sugar or other ingredients.

Cheese, flavored milk, and other processed products do not become exempt simply because they contain an animal-derived ingredient. Their classification and description determine the treatment.

Import income tax: PPh Article 22

For goods outside the special higher-rate schedules, an importer using API pays PPh Article 22 at 2.5% of the import tax base. That base includes customs value and import duty.

Specified goods attract 7.5% or 10% regardless of API status. The HS code therefore needs to be checked against the PPh Article 22 schedules before calculating the shipment’s tax payment. PPh Article 22 is an income-tax prepayment and can be creditable against the importer’s annual income tax.

Example import calculation

For a shipment with a customs value of IDR 1 billion, a 5% duty rate, VAT-exempt treatment, and a 2.5% PPh Article 22 rate:

This example excludes freight costs outside the declared customs value, port charges, quarantine fees, storage, and professional fees.

How Long Does It Take to Import Meat into Indonesia?

For an established importer using an approved supplier, the PI processing period is up to five working days after a complete application reaches the responsible officer. A first shipment takes longer because company licensing, agricultural recommendations, storage arrangements, and product registration may need to be completed first.

The main deadlines are:

There is no single clearance period covering every meat shipment. Inspection findings, laboratory testing, and document discrepancies determine how quickly quarantine can release the cargo.

Import Meat and Animal Products with Emerhub

Emerhub supports foreign businesses establishing and managing import operations in Indonesia. Our team can help with:

• Establishing a PT PMA and obtaining company licenses.
• Reviewing the import requirements for your product and business model.
• Preparing agricultural recommendation and import approval applications.
• Managing BPOM registration for retail processed food.
• Coordinating shipment documentation and import compliance reporting.

Contact Emerhub’s Indonesia team with your product description, proposed HS code, country of origin, and intended sales channel to discuss the import route.