Fisheries exports up in Indonesia
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Topics: FISH INDONESIA
"The increase in the value of Indonesian fishery exports during the January-March, 2020 period was affected by the closure and restrictions on imports by China since the beginning of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak," director general of Competitiveness Strengthening at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Nilanto Perbowo, said on Friday in Jakarta.
According to Perbowo, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted exporter countries such as Indonesia to divert shipments to the US and European markets, the largest markets for shrimp and tuna products.
Not only that, he said, the increase in exports was mainly noted for processed raw materials, retail supply, ready-to-serve, and durable fish, such as canned fish.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the value of Indonesian fishery exports in March, 2020 reached US$427.71 million, an increase of 6.34 percent compared with February, 2020.
Cumulatively, the value of Indonesia's exports during January-March, 2020 reached US$1.24 billion, an increase of 9.82 percent compared with the year-ago period.
The export volume in January-March, 2020 reached 295.13 thousand tons, an increase of 10.96 percent compared with the same period in 2019. ■