Wanted! Developer Investors Green Gold Weaving Prices RI, The Second Largest Potential In The World

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The government through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is said to be still trying to attract strategic investors who are willing to invest their capital to cultivate Indonesian seaweed cultivation.

Assistant Minister of KP for Media and Public Communication Doni Ismanto said this green gold' RI has the potential to bring profits from the export side to the world market.

According to him, seaweed commodities have a very large demand abroad as food and raw materials for making cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

We are intensively promoting opportunities for domestic seaweed business investment to increase the variety of products to be marketed. So far, the most exported products are raw materials, not processed with a much higher selling value," he said in an official statement, Tuesday, October 25.

Doni explained that in the near future the KKP will collaborate with BKPM, the World Bank and other parties to hold a Seawed Investment Forum and Festival in Surabaya in early November 2022. This forum aims to strengthen domestic seaweed production, branding, and expand market access for business actors in the global market.

"This is a manifestation of reaffirming the KKP's commitment to blue economy development through the promotion of superior commodities, one of which is seaweed," he said.

For information, Indonesia currently occupies the second largest seaweed producer in the world after China with production reaching 9.1 million tons in 2021.

Meanwhile, the development of seaweed cultivation has been supported by the availability of a mariculture area of 12.3 million hectares. Even so, the newly utilized land is only about 102.000 hectares or the equivalent of 0.8 percent.

"We are talking about seaweed, not just seaweed, but more broadly how blue economy, blue development, blue carbon are all in the seaweed. Why should this seaweed be our concern? Because this is like a treasure that we must use as a source of livelihood and a source of our foreign exchange," he explained.

On the same occasion, Director of Natural Resources Planning of the Ministry of Investment/Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) Ratih Purbasari Kania revealed that his party is ready to support efforts to realize fisheries, including seaweed.

Meanwhile, the support offered includes tax facilities in the form of Tax Allowance (TA), as well as Super Tax Deduction for Litban and Vocational Implementation.

"We must formulate a focused and sustainable investment policy. Then improve promotional coordination, as well as strengthen roles in facilitating investor interest. For investment promotions we are mapping target countries. For the fisheries sector there are Canada, Japan and New Zealand," he said.