Indonesian Fisheries Speed Up Tuna Exports To America, Singapore, And Japan

Fish processing by PT Perindo Indonesia (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - PT Perikanan Indonesia (Perindo) which is also part of the State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) is speeding up the export of fish caught by fishermen to three countries, namely America, Singapore and Japan, due to high demand from these countries.

President Director of PT Perikanan Indonesia Sigit Muhartono said the commodities exported were tuna to the United States and Singapore and octopus to Japan.

Exports, he said, also ensure that the fish caught by fishermen from the Indonesian sea are of good quality for consumption by foreign people.

"We are committed to meeting requests from overseas buyers to increase the company's income while increasing the inclusiveness of fishermen," said Sigit as quoted by Antara, Monday, June 20.

Sigit explained, the volume of foreign trade or exports of PT Perikanan Indonesia contributed about 10 percent of the total production compared to domestic fish trade in the country.

Therefore, the company's roadmap in the future will certainly increase foreign markets.

Currently, PT Perikanan Indonesia's export reach has spread to nine countries, including the United States, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Egypt, Singapore and South Korea.

Sigit said that the products exported to the United States are tuna fish that have been processed into pocket tuna, tuna steak and center cut tuna.

This tuna has been processed from raw material into tuna which has added value. That way, the selling price will be higher.

"This tuna export to the United States is the first export from one of our branches in Benoa, Bali, and the tuna from Bali has passed quality control and has passed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," he said.

Meanwhile, PT Perindo has routinely exported a minimum of 20 tons to 25 tons of finished tuna fish products, with a capitalization of IDR 4 billion.

The Central Statistics Agency noted that fishery exports in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2022 reached 1.53 billion US dollars, an increase of 21.63 percent over the same period last year.