Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MenKP) Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that China is one of the large export market targets, especially in the seafood or fisheries sector.
Trenggono revealed that currently Indonesia has an export contract for fishery products to China worth US$ 25 million or the equivalent of Rp. 391 billion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp. 15,673/US$). This contract will be valid until 2024.
“The contract (with China) is around US$ 25 million. This is quite good, and we have to increase it. (The contract) is until next year (2024), but we should be able to continue to increase this,” he said when met after the Initial Export Release of Fishery Products to China at Muara Baru 1000 Ton Cold Storage, North Jakarta, Thursday (9/11/2023).
He said that today’s release of fishery product exports to China was not the first for Indonesia.
“Actually, there is already a lot, but we have to continue to increase it, because our export achievement at the end of 2022 is US$ 6.2 billion, the market is to America, China and also Japan,” said Trenggono.
The reason why his party is intensifying fishery product exports to China is because compared to the realization of fishery product exports in 2022, the realization of fishery product exports in 2023 will only reach US$ 4.3 billion. Trenggono did not deny that there had indeed been a decline in exports of fishery products.
“What has been achieved in 2022 is US$ 6.2 billion. Now it is US$ 4.3 billion, so it is down a little, yes, but we still have a few months left, I think we can still catch up, at least the same (as last year) 2022),” he said.
Meanwhile, Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products (PDSPKP) Budi Sulistyo explained that the decline in exports of Indonesian fishery products occurred because world trade was currently experiencing a slowdown, because each country’s economy was in a period of recovery.
But it’s different from China. The fisheries market share in the Bamboo Curtain Country is very large. This is an opportunity for Indonesia.
“Indeed, currently the average is experiencing a contraction or slowing down. This is our challenge, so now we are pushing it to China,” explained Budi.
“China is opening up the market, because there are also problems with Japan. So it is a good opportunity for us to export there. This is one part of this good business,” he added.
Source: CNBC Indonesia
