Indonesia exported 118 thousand tons of shrimp worth USD 1.106 billion to the US in the first nine months of 2022, as stated by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. According to Erwin Dwiyana, the Marketing Director at the Ministry’s Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Product Competitiveness Improvement, the target market of Indonesia’s shrimp export includes the US, Japan, China, ASEAN (nine countries), and the European Union (27 countries), with a positive year-over-year growth rate of 12.97%.
The US was Indonesia’s leading export destination for shrimp commodities, accounting for 71.6% of national shrimp exports. Japan was the second-largest export destination, with shrimp shipments totaling 28 thousand tons for USD 298 million. The American market prefers processed items such as frozen peeled tropical shrimp, which reached USD 2.2 billion from January to August 2022, and ready-to-cook processed shrimp products.
The Marketing Director added that changes in the global economy impacted the exports of some national fisheries goods; nevertheless, other fishery products, such as shrimp, witnessed some growth. According to statistics, the worldwide shrimp trade averaged USD 4.34 billion from 2017 to 2021, with Indonesia having a market share of approximately 7.7%, or USD 1.89 billion.
To sustain and improve export supply, the Ministry Directorate General’s administration attempts to accelerate access to worldwide markets, promote and brand products, and enhance logistics. This attempt will need to develop fish processing industrial zones connected with regions for boosting shrimp production and logistical service providers.
In conjunction with the ministry’s efforts, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has authorized a USD 93 million loan to improve shrimp farming for smallholders in seven Indonesian provinces. Named the Infrastructure Improvement Project for Shrimp Aquaculture, the project is intended to assist the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry in introducing sustainable shrimp aquaculture in shrimp-farming areas for smallholders to increase productivity, quality, profitability, and environmental preservation. Meanwhile, the seven provinces encompass Bali, Banten, Central Java, East Java, Lampung, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, and South Sulawesi.
The loan project will increase smallholder farmers’ access to quality shrimp feed and fry, production and post-harvest, and traceability through investments in climate-adapted infrastructure, capacity building, and value-chain strengthening. This project will also help the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry share expertise about raising shrimp fry with high-quality genetics to lessen its reliance on imported fry supplies and aid in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by creating jobs and encouraging rural entrepreneurship.
The project is in line with the government’s National Medium-Term Development Plan 2020-2024, the ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy 2020-2024 for Indonesia, and the ADB’s Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and a Sustainable Blue Economy.
(Sources: ANTARA News; and The Jakarta Post)
