Dried Gourami Fish Of Hulu Sungai Selatan, South Kalimantan, Enters Foreign Markets

HULU SUNGAI SELATAN - Dried gourami fish products processed by residents of Muning Baru Village, Daha Selatan District, Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency, South Kalimantan, are able to enter foreign markets.

"There are several business groups processing dried gourami fish in Muning Baru, and also their products have arrived outside the region, there are several groups meeting the export market demand," said Head of Muning Baru Village, Gusriadi, quoted by Antara, Friday, June 25.

In addition to the islands of Java and Sumatra, the export destinations of this dried gourami fish include Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, as well as to Saudi Arabia.

"Freshwater gourami fish is one of the prima donna fish species for the people of Muning Baru Village, because the population of gourami fish in the Muning Baru River is very large," he said.

Muning Baru Village is one of the villages in swampy conditions adjacent to the river, many residents are fish seekers but not all fish caught in the river are sold fresh.

"To increase the economic value of fish caught by gourami fish, villagers innovate to make various kinds of preparations, one of which is salted fish," added Gusriadi.

Apart from Muning Baru Village, there are also dry gourami fish producing villages in Hulu Sungai Selatan District, including Central Muning, South Daha and Bangka Village, Kandangan District.

The method of processing dried gourami fish is quite easy, namely, the gourami fish is cleaned of the stomach contents and the scales are cleaned until clean, the clean fish is sprinkled with salt and dried in the sun to dry.

Almost along the village road which is the access to the Districts of South Daha, North Daha, and West Daha, it is easy to find women who are active in processing dried gourami fish.

The owner of the dried gourami fish business, Nurul, admitted that she has been in the business of making dried gourami fish for decades.

"The production of dried gourami fish averages 300 kilograms per day by employing five to six people," said Nurul.

Gourami fish with small sizes are packaged in various sizes and at different prices, which is Rp10 thousand per pack.