TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ministry blames outdated methods for disappointing 2023 fishery exports
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono stated that the value of fishery exports in 2023 reached US$5.6 billion, a decrease from $6.2 billion in 2022. This year's export value is also lower than the initial target of $6.7 billion.
Change Size
Fishermen in Batang, Central Java, manage their catches in the harbor. (Shutterstock/Maharani Afifah)
I
ndonesia saw the value of its fishery exports slip to US$5.6 billion last year, marking a 10 percent decrease compared with the previous year, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said on Wednesday.
That figure also fell short of the ministry’s export target of $6.7 billion set for last year. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono explained that many Indonesian fishery products did not meet export quality standards, preventing them from reaching a wider market.
“National exports in 2023 decreased from $6.2 billion in 2022,” Sakti said, as quoted from Kompas.
The minister said Indonesia still lacked comprehensive regulations in the fishery sector. He mentioned that local fishermen tended to catch fish that had lower demand in the market compared with other countries, which focused on those in high demand, as quoted from Bisnis.
Read also: Better care for locals and the ocean to make Indonesia’s blue economy more viable
Moreover, the majority of fishermen in other countries used boats with an average displacement of 30 gross tonnage (GT), allowing them to venture further out to sea.
Meanwhile, the majority of Indonesian fishermen were smallholders with an average boat displacement of 10 GT or less.
