The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries plans to increase the volume of processed fishery product exports up to 25 percent of total fisheries  production  in order to increase the value of  exports.

The ministry’s director of foreign marketing Saut P. Hutagalung said on Thursday that the large increase, from 7 to 8 percent previously, would also be followed by diversification of export markets.

“We are focusing on improving the quality of processed products which are more valuable,” Saut said at the sideline of the ministry’s national coordination meeting.

Compared to raw fishery products, the processed products are more valuable in terms of prices and it can also absorb new employment, Saut  said. He added that processed fish products like fish fillets and battered shrimps can absorb more employment  as these need people who  to  be available for processing.

The ministry is targeting production of 4 million tons of processed fishery products out of total annual production of 12.73 million tons in the industry. Ministry data shows that from 2007 to 2008, the volume of exports increased by 4.89 percent, from 854,328 tons to 896.140 tons. However, at the same time the export value increased by 14 percent, from US$2.26 billion in 2007 to $2.57 billion in 2008.

The ministry’s short and mid term plan targets 9 percent growth in export value this year, amounting to $2.8 billion. The growth target is slower than the growth from 2007  to 2008.

The ministry hopes to increase the total fisheries workforce to just over ten million employees this year, while also planning to increase the average income of fishermen and fisheries workers to Rp 1.5 million per month,  empowering 850,000 poor people living in coastal areas.

In order to cope with the slowing global demand, the ministry is also planning to diversify its export markets to the Middle-East, and Central and Eastern Europe. “Demand in our biggest markets, the United States, European Union, and Japan, has decreased around 10 to 15 percent, that’s why we need to look for new potential markets,” Saut said.

The ministry data shows that in 2008, Indonesia’s fishery products export value to the Middle-East reached $40 million, including  exports to Saudi Arabia ($18 million), Jordan ($15 million), and Egypt ($7 million). The Ministry is planning to increase exports to this area by 60 to 70 percent this year.

The data also shows that Indonesia’s fish products exports to the Eastern and Central Europe in 2007 reached to $12 million. Marketing research conducted by the ministry in 2008 revealed that there also would be a lot of opportunities for Indonesian fish products in the United Arab Emirates and Poland.

The United States, European Union and Japan are still the biggest importers of Indonesian fishery products, reaching 65 to 70 percent, followed by East Asia (Taiwan, Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia) which contribution reached to 24 percent.

Saut said that Indonesia’s main commodities are shrimps and tuna fish. Last year, shrimp exports contributed $1.2 billion or almost 50 percent out of the value of total exports, which reached $2.56 billion

Diversification of products is also one of the ministry’s strategies to increase export value. “Less popular commodities like patin fish (Pangasius Sutchi), and milkfish are in more demand in the Middle East and Central Europe, especially patin which can be use as a substitute for cod fish,” Saut said.

The ministry’s 2009 targets also include to increase domestic fish consumption to 30.17 kilograms of fish per capita per year, improve coastal regencies and cities into integrated coastal areas, and increase fishery and maritime sector’s contribution to the gross domestic income. (fmb)

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