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View all search resultsRI tuna exports set for tariff-free access to Japan
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is in the process of drafting a circular letter to ratify the agreement and outline registration procedures for accessing the zero-percent tariff.
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Bluefin bonanza: Kiyoshi Kimura (center), president of Kiyomura Corp., the Tokyo-based operator of sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai, displays a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna on Jan. 05, 2026, at his main restaurant in Tokyo, after the New Year’s auction at Toyosu fish market. (AFP/Yuichi Yamazaki)
T
he Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) has stated that Indonesia’s processed tuna and skipjack exports to Japan are set to receive an import tariff reduction to zero percent from the current 9.6 percent. The policy is part of amendments to the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), which Jakarta expects to significantly boost competitiveness in one of the world’s largest seafood markets.
First signed by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in 2007, IJEPA was agreed to be revised in 2024 to strengthen the bilateral economic partnership between the two countries.
The maritime affairs ministry is currently preparing a circular letter to ratify the agreement, as well as to set out registration procedures to obtain the zero-percent tariff.
Fish processing units seeking to benefit from IJEPA’s preferential tariffs must submit licensing and certification documents to the ministry, including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), standard operating procedures and traceability records, which will then be verified and inspected. Units approved after the processing window, which is open until Jan. 26, will be sent to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries through a diplomatic note.
The maritime ministry’s acting director general of marine and fishery products competitiveness Machmud said that Indonesian canned tuna and other processed tuna products currently rank third among top exports in the Japanese market, with export values reaching US$30.28 million. Indonesia has also posted stronger export growth than its regional competitors, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.82 percent, higher than Thailand’s 12.12 percent and the Philippines’ 6.31 percent.
“With a zero-percent tariff, our tuna and skipjack exports will become more competitive, and we are optimistic that Indonesia can become number one in Japan,” Machmud said in a statement on Friday.
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