As demand from traditional export markets is expected to take an upward turn, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry expects to increase the total export value of fishery products to US$2.9 billion in 2010, up from last year’s $2.3 billion.

The ministry’s director general of Fisheries Product Processing and Marketing, Martani Huseini, said Thursday the output of the fisheries industry will reach 10.76 million tons this year, up by 700,000 from last year with improvements in both global and domestic demand.

The ministry’s director of foreign marketing Saut P. Hutagalung said the fisheries industry would also benefit from market expansion to non-traditional export market destinations such as to countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.

“We target to increase the export value of fishery products to the two to around $150 million in 2010 from $60 million last year,” he said.

Saut said aside from the Middle East and Central Asia, the ministry was also eyeing other potential markets, such as Africa and East European countries. He said the four markets still represented a big potential for the Indonesian fisheries sector although with their combined export value in 2008 only accounting for 7 percent, or around $185 million, of total national fisheries exports.

Saut was in Iran last week to make an agreement to export a targeted 2,000 tons of pre-cooked tuna loin in 2010.

“Indonesian exporters and Iranian importers have agreed on the quality and prices of the products that are to be exported. Iran is ready to import with that target,” he told The Jakarta Post, adding Indonesia would start exporting this month.

He said fisheries exports to Iran were valued at $1 million in 2008, up from around $260,000 in 2007 and $120,000 in 2006.

The planned exports would boost next year’s total export volume and increase the total fisheries workforce, Saut said.

“Manufacturing industry in the country will also improve,” he added.

Export market expansion to the Middle East and Central Asia will be backed by the readiness of Indonesian exporters to export products that meet required standards of quality.

“Indonesia also has good political and economic relationships with [countries in the Middle East and Central Asia],” he added.

However, Saut said that there were also challenges in exporting to these countries.

Iran, for example, “is being sanctioned by the US for it nuclear program, which makes it difficult to use letters of credit as a means of payment,” he said.

“The other alternatives [for payment] would be to use telegraphic transfer or counter trade,” he added.

The ministry is also preparing MoUs with fellow Developing-8 member countries on fisheries product exports and an agreed standard of quality.

Saut said the ministry would however still nurture its traditional markets in the US, Japan and EU countries as the three had always contributed the lion’s share or around 72 percent of the total export value of the fisheries sector for the last 10 years.

Over the decade, Southeast Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have contributed 11 percent of total fisheries export value. The East Asian markets in China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan— have contributed 10 percent. (adh)

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