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Government to subsidize fish exports to Australia
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Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (right) and the ministry's sea transportation director Tonny Budiono speak to journalists in Jakarta. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
T
he government plans to subsidize the transportation of seafood exports to enable them to be directly sent from Eastern Indonesia to Darwin, Australia.
Currently, fishery products from Eastern Indonesia are transferred to Surabaya in East Java before being sent to Australia, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Wednesday, adding that it took a week for the fish to be transported to Australia.
"So we will provide a subsidy through state-owned transportation companies Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) and Garuda Indonesia. We can reduce the time from a week to 2-3 days," Budi Karya said when attending the commemoration of PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur’s (SMI) anniversary in Jakarta.
The main two hubs would be in Morotai, North Maluku, and Saumlaki in Maluku.
The government is still calculating the value of the subsidy and the program is expected to be implemented in the second semester of this year, Budi added. "We need to calculate the exact amount for the subsidy," he said. (bbn)
