Red tape blamed for slow growth in fishery sector<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An economic analyst has blamed the slow
\ndevelopment of the fishery sector on the numerous and lengthy
\nprocedures needed to gain operating licenses.<\/p>\n
Didik J. Rachbini, director of the Institute for Development
\nof Economics and Finance, said that corruption is still rampant
\nacross the country because the government's deregulation measures
\nhave not been followed up with a simplification of the
\nbureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"This has caused a lot of trouble,\" he told The Jakarta Post
\nhere over the weekend.<\/p>\n
In the fishery sector alone, he calculated that a prospective
\ninvestor needed to obtain 39 licenses before being able to begin
\noperations.<\/p>\n
\"If one license takes 20 days to be issued, then 39 licenses
\nwould take 780 days, or more than two years to be completed,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Apart from this, he said, the sector also faces the problem of
\nhigh interest rates -- currently approaching about 20 percent per
\nannum -- which make it difficult for investors to attain profits.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that fisheries might be considered by banks as
\nhigh-risk businesses, making them reluctant to provide loans, but
\npointed out that the risk factor was present in other sectors as
\nwell.<\/p>\n
\"Banks should not use this as an excuse for not providing
\nloans ... This is the important agro-industrial sector, which we
\nwant to promote for development,\" Didik said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the situation is particularly bleak for
\nfisheries, because the sector has great potentials which have yet
\nto be explored.<\/p>\n
In the last two years, he said, the value of fishery exports
\nincreased from US$1.6 billion in 1994 to $1.8 billion in 1995.<\/p>\n
\"This increase can be considered quite rapid. Yet if we
\nconsider the unexploited potential yield of the sector, there is
\nstill a lot we can do,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to the Directorate General of Fisheries, fishery
\nproduction -- both from seawater and freshwater sources -- in
\n1995 reached 4.22 million tons, up from 4.02 million tons in
\n1994. Export volumes during those years were 554,330 tons and
\n520,570 tons, respectively.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, studies have shown that the potential yield of the
\nfishery sector from Indonesia's territorial waters alone
\npresently ranges between six million and seven million tons.<\/p>\n
Didik said that export value could still be increased to reach
\nUS$4 million and help cover the decline in exports of other
\ncommodities, such as forestry and certain industrial products.<\/p>\n
He said that the lack of sound fishing technology and
\nequipment is the main cause of Indonesia's lag in the sector.<\/p>\n
\"The sector still relies on traditional fishermen who use
\nconventional equipment. They don't travel out further than 60
\nmiles from the shore. There are only a few large cold storage and
\npackaging companies in the country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that if the government was willing to cut back red
\ntape and high interest rates for the agribusiness sector, the
\ninvestment climate for the fishery sector would then become more
\nattractive to potential investors.(pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/red-tape-blamed-for-slow-growth-in-fishery-sector-1447893297",
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