The association of Indonesian cold storage businesspeople in East Java has demanded the government help them deal with a significant decline in shrimp exports caused by supply shortages.
The government should hold a national meeting for cold-storage businessmen to map out the problems the sector is facing and find solutions for them, association chairman Johan Suryadarma said Tuesday. "It is imperative for the central government hold a national meeting to find ways out of these problems," Johan said.
Export destination countries and importers had demanded continuing supplies, and if their orders could not be fulfilled it would influence their trust in the Indonesian businesspeople operating in the sector, he said.
The association anticipates shrimp exports to decline by 30 percent this year, Johan said.
At the beginning of this year the association had targeted to export 350,000 tons of shrimp.
However, with many farmers failing to harvest good shrimp this year, the association now expects around 250,000 tons. "We have seen many harvest failures this year because of viruses," Johan said, adding that farmers could avoid outbreaks by farming immune shrimp stock in their ponds.
Based on the association's data as of September this year, the total shrimp exports from East Java to Japan and Europe had declined by 20 percent, while that to the United States had declined by 16 percent.
Johan said shrimp exports could drop by up to 40 percent next year if the government failed to help shrimp farmers cope with these problems.
Many farmers have abandoned shrimp ponds because of viruses, he said. Farmers often preferred to abandon ponds rather than attempting to keep them sterile, which was a costly undertaking, he said.
Johan hoped the government would encourage farmers to return to their ponds, including those in Porong, Sidoarjo, which were abandoned following the Lapindo mudflow disaster. "Before the mudflow, there were around 15,000 hectares of shrimp ponds in Porong."
Traditional shrimp farmers in Porong needed support to resume farming activities, he said.
East Java contributes around 30 percent to the total national shrimp export. Shrimp production centers in the province include Situbondo, Banyuwangi and Tuban regencies.
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