Batur Lake fish growers hit by rise in feedstock price

Ni Komang Erviani ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  BANGLI   |  Fri, 03/20/2009 1:12 PM  |  Bali

Recent steep increases in the price of fish feedstock has placed fish farmers around Batur Lake, Kintamani district, Bangli regency, in a perilous position as the price of fish remains stable.

Nengah Sri Genep, 32, has been cultivating mujair and nila fish on the lake for the past eight years inside karamba (fish boxes) in Toya Bungkah village.

"The fish feedstock is now very expensive reaching Rp 390,000 (US$33) per 50-kilogram sack," the father of two said.

"Late last year the price was only Rp 260,000 per sack."

Genep, a member of the Dwi Segara fish growers' group, is one of around 50 fish growers from three groups affected by the price increase.

To add the misery, fish growers lamented the fact that mujair fish price was not increased to compensate the high feedstock price.

"The fish remains at its price of Rp 17,000 per kilogram," Wayan Sukarta, of the Tri Dharma Tunggal Segara farmers' group, said.

"We simply cannot increase the price."

The growers expected the regional administration would help provide them with more affordable fish feedstock.

Separately, head of the Bali Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency, I Gusti Putu Nuriatha, acknowledged that the increased price of fish feedstock had put huge burden to the fish growers.

"We have requested the assistance of the fisheries directorate-general *at the maritime affairs and fisheries ministry* to help the growers," he said Tuesday.

"I heard the director general plans to provide equipment to produce fish feedstock."

Nuriatha said he was pessimistic however, as to the equipments ability to help solve the problems faced by the growers.

"The problem is that raw materials for fish feedstock, such as bran and fish flour, have to be imported from other regions far away from Batur," he said.

"I am concerned that the price will be even higher than buying fish feedstock from the market."

Nuriatha suggested the fish growers form a cooperative so that they could buy fish feedstock directly from a distributor and avoid retailers.

"The price will be cheaper if the distribution chain is shorter," he said.

He added that Bali's prospects for fisheries were huge.

"Bali needs 23 tons of fish, both cultivated and caught, while we can only provide some 14 tons," he said.

"We still have to import the remaining fish from Java," he added.

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