Jakarta.  Dairy farmers and milk collectors in Boyolali and Semarang, Central Java, staged public demonstrations over the weekend, taking to the streets and symbolically bathing in milk to protest the lack of demand for local milk, which they say has been undercut by imported products. 

In response, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman suspended the import permits of five companies and plans to revive an old policy requiring dairy processors to purchase local milk.

Farmer and protester Dono Nugroho said that since September, dairy aggregators have faced growing difficulty selling milk to village cooperatives. "We can collect milk from the farmers, but selling it has been hard since early September," Dono told Beritasatu.com. He said he has already suffered losses of over Rp 100 million ($6,367) and expressed hope that the government would step in to protect local dairy farmers.

Dairy farmers are facing intense competition from imported milk, which has reduced demand for domestic products. Boyolali protest coordinator Sriyono said the oversupply has led to waste, with unsold milk piling up at cooperatives and processing units. "Around 50,000 liters are discarded daily, and in Boyolali alone, there’s about 30 tons of leftover milk per day," he said.

A similar protest took place in Semarang on Sunday, where dairy farmers distributed 1,000 liters of milk for free in front of the Getasan District Office. Hundreds of locals lined up with bottles and containers to collect the milk.

In response to the protests, Minister Amran Sulaiman mediated a closed-door meeting on Monday with dairy farmers and milk industry representatives at the Agriculture Ministry in Jakarta. Both sides reached an agreement to support local production, with the ministry pledging to revise regulations to require domestic milk processors to buy local milk.

“From now on, all dairy processors must source milk from local farmers,” Amran said, adding that official directives have already been sent to local agencies for swift implementation.

The government is set to revise a Presidential Regulation from the late 1990s that eliminated the requirement for dairy processors to buy local milk, a move made during the IMF reform period. “We’re reviving this policy to support our farmers and boost national milk production,” Amran said.

Amran also temporarily suspended the import permits of five dairy processing companies found rejecting local fresh milk. "For now, we are holding back the import permits of five companies until the situation stabilizes across Indonesia," he said. "If any of these companies still refuse to purchase milk from local farmers, we will revoke their permits, and they will no longer be allowed to import," he added.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) for 2023, domestic fresh milk production reached only 837,223 tons, meeting just 19 percent of the national demand, which stands at 4.4 million tons. The remaining 81 percent must be supplied through imports.

Pudji Ismartini, a deputy at BPS, reported on Sept. 17 that milk imports in August 2024 totaled $94.49 million, an increase of 21.19 percent from $77.97 million in July 2024, and an annual rise of 21.12 percent.