Taking Advantage Of US Reciprocal Tariffs, Japfa Expands Global Export Market

Photo: Aris Nurjani/VOI

JAKARTA PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Tbk. (JPFA) assessed that the United States' reciprocal tariff policy against Indonesia was 19 percent a positive opportunity to strengthen the company's export position.

Head of Aquaculture Division Japfa Ardi Budiono explained that the main product exported by Japfa to the US comes from the fisheries sector, especially tilapia fish fillets.

According to Ardi, China is currently the largest exporter of tilapia products to the US market. However, China is subject to a higher reciprocal rate than Indonesia and this can create opportunities for Indonesia to be more competitive in exporting tilapia products to Uncle Sam's country.

It should be noted that this tilapia cultivation can only be done by tropical countries. One of America's largest suppliers to tilapia is China. So that China's tilapia entering America is not competitive," he said in a public expose, Wednesday, September 3.

Japfa's exports are currently focused on various regions, including Europe, Asia, and the United States. In the first half of 2025, Japfa's export value was recorded at IDR 505.65 billion, or an increase from IDR 419.27 billion in the same period the previous year.

Ardi added that lower reciprocal rates for Indonesia could encourage an increase in exports, although it did not specify the potential increase in income that the company could get from this policy.

"This actually opens up opportunities for Indonesia to be able to increase its exports further," he said.

Sementara itu, Corporate Financial Controller Japfa Erwin Djohan menyampaikan bahwa perusahaan akan memanfaatkan momentum ini dengan meningkatkan kapasitas produksi untuk memenuhi permintaan ekspor dan kualitas produk tetap menjadi prioritas utama.

“Tapi memang ada upaya untuk kita sebenarnya memperbesar kapasitas produksi untuk mencoba menjawab demand dari ekspor tersebut, karena demand-nya cukup besar sih,” imbuhnya.

Meanwhile, Japfa Corporate Financial Controller Erwin Djohan said that the company will take advantage of this momentum by increasing production capacity to meet export demand and product quality remains a top priority.

"But there is indeed an effort for us to actually increase our production capacity to try to answer the demand from the export, because the demand is quite large," he added.