An Analisys of Comparative Advantages of Beef Cattle and Catfish Business in Indragiri Hulu District, Riau

Abstract

Indonesia still imports 30 percent of beef to meet domestic demand, while still importing catfish fillets from Vietnam amounted to 600 tons per month in 2011. Indragiri Hulu district of Riau province is one of the central areas of beef cattle and catfish business. There are several problem about beef cattle and catfish business in the region. Therefore it is necessary to study on competitiveness of both types of business. This study aims to analyze: (1) competitiveness beef cattle and catfish business in the District of Indragiri Hulu, (2) the impact of government’s input-output policy on the competitiveness of beef cattle and catfish business. Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) was employed in this study in order to measure level of competitive and comparative advantage and effect of government interventions on beef cattle and catfish business. The results showed that Beef cattle business is profitable and has competitive and comparative advantage. Catfish aquaculture that uses most of the feed from factories are uncompetitive, while the catfish aquaculture that use alternative feed has highly competitiveness. The impact of government policy on output of beef cattle and catfish business indicates positive result. It is means that the government intervention has been effective so the prices received by farmers is higher than international prices.