Lack of Fishery’s Raw Materials



Fishery industrialization program propagandized by fishery and marine ministry has some problems. They are from lack of fish supply to inefficient factory. The lack of raw material in downstream industries is caused by fish robbery which still happens. 

Saut Hutagalung, Director General of Manufacture and Marketing of Fishery Result in Fishery and Marine Ministry, in Jakarta, said that the utility of fish manufacture industries was 50-60 percent from the capacity because of lack of raw materials.

Increase in fishery production has not fulfilled the industrial raw material necessity and the increasing consumption yet. The condition is worse and worse because the fish robbery decreasing raw material supply for manufacture industry is more and more. 

“Government’s challenge is to solve fish robbery. So the raw material can be supplied well,” said Saut.

The lack of raw material, nowadays, is solved by importing raw material for re-export importance or canning. In 2012, fish import was aimed at 610.000 ton. It increased approximately by 35 percent. The number was different from 2011, 450.000 ton.

In January-April 2012, fishery product import was 90.000 ton or 15 percent from fish import quota target. Fish import is such as fish flour for cultivation and necessity of canning such as Cakalang fish, Sardines, and Small Crab. 

The fickle raw material is for re-export, such as the small crab, Salmon and Cakalang. “ In this year, the import increases possibly because fish production can not fulfill necessity of industry and consumption,” said Saut.

Syahrin Abdurrahman, Director General of Marine and Fishery Resources Control, admites before that the robbery still happens. The robbery control is always done by organizations under Committee of Sea Safety Coordination.

Translated from Kompas Daily, April  2012.

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