Publicly listed shrimp producer Central Proteina Prima (CP Prima) will soon export more frozen shrimp and food to Europe as it is seeing increased demand after recently receiving an international food certification
ublicly listed shrimp producer Central Proteina Prima (CP Prima) will soon export more frozen shrimp and food to Europe as it is seeing increased demand after recently receiving an international food certification.
The certificate from US-based Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), obtained last year, marks the business as living up to good environmental practices and international standards of hygiene.
“With this certificate, our products will sell better in the international market, especially in Europe,” CP Prima president director Irwan Tirtariyadi said during the firm’s public expose on Friday.
The company is planning to send its products to Italy, Cyprus and Scandinavian countries, adding to its existing markets that include UK, Holland and Germany.
CP Prima, whose local brands include “Fiesta” and “Champ”, relies on exports, with those accounting for 89 percent of its net sales. Last year, it sold 24 thousand tons of shrimp and other food products, which include fish products and feed for shrimp and fish.
It has exported shrimp products worldwide since 1990, its biggest market being the US, followed by Europe and Japan with made-to-order brands, including “Bird River” in the US.
CP Prima investor relations head Armand Ardika said after the certificate was issued, the firm had received more orders from various fish distributors in Europe. Those include the UK’s food conglomerate J. Lyon & Co and Cyprus’ Young’s Seafood Ltd, a fast food chain that plans to make shrimp burgers, as well as distributors in Norway and Denmark.
Armand acknowledged that the recent decision by the UK to leave the European Union on was sending the euro and the pound down and might potentially lead to weaker economies. However, he said demand for shrimp was likely to remain stable, just with different preferences.
“People may prefer smaller shrimps with lower prices as the economy gets suppressed but we will always follow market demands and customize the products,” he told The Jakarta Post.
Irwan said it was hoped the boost in exports would grow the firm’s revenue by 7.9 percent to Rp 9.6 trillion (US$716.4 million).
CP Prima last year booked Rp 8.9 trillion revenue, a 5.3 percent drop from 2014 as global shrimp prices dropped by 30 percent due to lower harvests during prolonged drought in Indonesia last year.
The unfavorable sales conditions were exacerbated by the unstable rupiah exchange rate last year, increased employee salaries and a major investment in CP Prima’s recently opened factory in Surabaya, East Java.
Together, those factors led CP Prima to book a Rp 1.2 trillion loss last year, bigger than its Rp 389 billion loss in 2014.
The company currently has assets worth Rp 9.2 trillion, dominated by Rp 7.17 trillion in liabilities. Its equity stands at Rp 2.03 trillion, which includes 12 shrimp seeding facilities, two shrimp ponds, two food factories with 45,000 tons of shrimp and fish production capacity a year, three shrimp feed mills, five fish feed mills – all in Sumatra and Java.
Shares in CP Prima, coded CPRO, traded at Rp 50 apiece on Monday, having stayed at that level since the start of the year, while the broader benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) has risen more than 5 percent year-to-date.
—JP/ Stefani Ribka
--------------
To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.
For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.
Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.