Minister Trenggono Urges Role of Cold Storage in Increasing Tuna Exports

JAKARTA - Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono emphasized the importance of cold storage facilities in maintaining the quality of the catch in order to increase competitiveness and expand tuna exports to various destination countries.

Trenggono said that his party is optimistic that the production of yellowfin tuna can increase exports to Japan, Singapore and others.

Moreover, said Trenggono, SKPT Morotai has a cold storage capacity of 200 tons with cooling down to minus 60 degrees.

"Such a large cold storage can store yellowfin tuna fresher and can be directly exported to Japan," said Trenggono as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, April 30.

According to Trenggono, later SKPT Morotai will become a symbol of economic growth in coastal areas, especially in the outermost island areas. This is part of the government's commitment to realizing marine food sovereignty and strengthening the marine-based economy.

In addition, the existence of SKPT Morotai brings fisheries infrastructure services closer to the community in strategic and border areas. It is also an important capital that needs to be managed sustainably.

"The development of this fishing port not only functions as a center for fishermen's activities, but also as a symbol of sustainable regional economic growth," said Trenggono.

The development of the SKPT Morotai fishing port is a direct grant from the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with a budget of IDR 115,710,859,000.

The facilities in it range from ice flake machines, administrative offices, seawalls, fishermen's barracks, employee messes, logistics warehouses, to integrated cold storage that can hold up to 200 tons.

SKPT is a concept for regional-based marine and fisheries development with an approach and regional management system with the principles of integration, efficiency, quality and high acceleration.

Located in North Maluku and directly bordering the Pacific region, Morotai has extraordinary fisheries potential. One of them is yellowfin tuna.

Based on 2024 data, the total production of yellowfin tuna in SKPT Morotai reached 1,382 tons with a total fish production value of IDR 65.83 billion coming from several villages in Morotai.

With the newly inaugurated SKPT and moreover, further construction in the form of docks and breakwaters can be carried out, the total number of ships will increase to 175 units with a total estimated production reaching 39,100 tons per year.

The absorption of workers reaches 1,320 people.

Head of Representatives JICA, Sachiko Tadeka said, the program provides fiscal support for the development of fishing port facilities on the outermost islands initiated by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

Takeda is optimistic that SKPT Morotai, which has facilities with a cold chain, can make yellowfin tuna into sashimi that can be exported directly to Japan.

Japan and Indonesia have strong strategic relations in the Indo-Pacific region.