KKP Gandeng BRI Encourages Acceleration Of Credit Distribution In The Marine And Fisheries Sector

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI) regarding the acceleration of access to lending to the marine and fisheries sector.

KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said his party had received support from BRI President Director Sunarso to accelerate this.

"We have received support from the President Director of BRI, that is the most important thing. We assure the banking industry from the marine fisheries sector that this has good prospects," he said at the MSME Thrive Expo event at the KKP Building, Jakarta, Monday, March 6.

On the technical side, said Trenggono, his party will increase the productivity of marine and fishery products so that they can easily get bank credit.

"We first fix fishery management well, produce well, so that people in the marine and fisheries sector can carry out production procedures and so on. That is the most important thing, so that it is bankable," he said.

This is considering that Indonesia's marine and fisheries industry has great potential in terms of value which is estimated to reach IDR 500 trillion.

"In terms of very large data, the production is 25 million tons, that's only Rp. 20,000 per kg, that's Rp. 500 trillion. That's a big number if it's not managed, it's not arranged properly, that's a shame," explained Trenggono.

On the same occasion, BRI President Director Sunarso added, as a banker who has been around for decades, he knows exactly what the basic problems in this marine and fishery product-based industry are.

"We often fail in financing, in the distribution of credit in the marine sector, then people say, oh the market is difficult," said Sunarso.

"In fact, after we examined there were absolutely no marketing problems in food products, in fact the market potential was very large because it had to meet protein needs," he added.

Thus, said Sunarso, the problem is not in the market and marketing, but in production which involves three things, namely quantity, quality, and sustainability.

"This means that there is an integration problem between logistical support for production, production, processing, and distribution to consumption," he concluded.