Indonesia aims to earn USD 6.05 billion (EUR 5 billion) from its fisheries exports this year, up 16.3 percent from 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities for Indonesia to increase its fisheries exports, Indosian Marine and Fishery Products Director General Artati Widiarti told Indonesian news outlet VOI.
The country’s fisheries export value in April rose 11.6 percent year-on-year to USD 488 million (EUR 402 million).
In the first quarter of 2021, Indonesia exported fisheries products worth USD 1.75 billion (EUR 1.44 billion), 4.15 percent higher year-on-year. The United States was the largest buyer of fisheries products from Indonesia in the period, with a sales value of USD 700 million (EUR 574.7 million), accounting for 44.1 percent of Indonesia's total.
Other major markets included China, with USD 246 million (EUR 202 million) in purchases, accounting for 14 percent; Japan, with USD 190 million (EUR 156 million) in sales, accounting for 10.9 percent; The ASEAN bloc, with USD 189 million (EUR 155.2 million) in purchases, accounting for 0.8 percent; and the European Union, with USD 83 million (EUR 68 million), accounting for a share of 4.7 percent.
Tuna, squid, octopus, and crab were the most-popular products ordered by foreign buyers in the period.
The Indonesian government is moving forward with a plan to implement measures to support its fisheries exports. For example, on 7 June, Indonesian Consulate General to Canada Leonard F. Hutabarat led two virtual meetings with fisheries associations and exporters from Indonesia. Hutabarat said he hoped to support exchanges between Indonesian suppliers and potential buyers in Canada.
A top issue raised by Indonesian exporters with Hutabarat was the need for more regular shipping channels to North America, according to the consulate's office.
Indonesia exported shrimp products worth USD 4.8 million (EUR 3.9 million) to Canada in Q1 2021, up 20 percent from a year earlier. In the pandemic-riven 2020, Indonesia's exports of marine products to Canada declined 9 percent from 2019.
In Q1 2021, some problems continue to show, as Indonesia's tuna exports fell 66 percent year-over-year. In 2020, the country's tuna exports to Canada grew 26 percent year-on-year to USD 5.1 million (EUR 4.2 million).
Indonesia has 2,191 seafood processing plants and ships fisheries products to 157 countries.
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