Fishery sector aims at US$2b export target

BOGOR, West Java (JP): The government is aiming at an 11 percent growth in the country's fishery exports to US$2 billion this year from last year's $1.8 billion in spite of numerous problems currently faced by the sector.

Director General of Fisheries F.X. Murdjijo said on Saturday that it is important to increase productivity and exports because fisheries are expected to become the agricultural sector's new source of growth for the current long-term development plan which started in 1994.

"The expectation is quite understandable since the fishery sector is very potential, considering that we have used only 40 percent of the aquatic resources we own," he said when opening a one-day seminar on fisheries.

The seminar was organized jointly by the Bogor Agricultural University's School of Fisheries, the Directorate General of Fisheries and the Indonesian Association of Fishery School Graduates.

Murdjijo said that in the 1993 to 1995 period, the country's fishery production grew by an average of 5.65 percent a year from 3.7 million tons to 4.2 million tons. Most of this, or about 77 percent, came from marine fisheries, particularly shrimp.

Meanwhile, the fishery exports during that period rose by 4.18 percent in volume to 574,234 tons in 1995 and by 9.68 percent in value to $1.8 billion.

But Murdjijo acknowledged that the sector would have to solve many problems before it could sufficiently meet the government's targets.

"The sector is now facing the risk of decreasing resources and environmental qualities...and unequal distribution of resource exploitation," Murdjijo said.

Apart from that, there was also a severe shortage of sound fishing vessels, as non-motorized fishing boats owned by poor fishermen made up most of the country's fleets. Such boats were unable to make long trips, thus fishing was concentrated mostly near the shore.

Manpower

He also considered low-quality manpower as a serious problem faced by the sector.

"About 64 percent of our fishermen are primary school dropouts and only 26.2 percent have primary school certificates... This, in turn, causes problems in training and education," he said.

Murdjijo said the long line of problems, and the natural risks affecting fisheries, lead to the sector's poor performance and, in turn, caused banks to avoid giving loans to businesses in that sector.

I Nengah Suanda, an executive of Bank Rakyat Indonesia, said Saturday that 50 percent to 60 percent of the bank's loans to the fishery sector during the 1990 to 1995 period have gone sour.

"For shrimp ponds alone, 75 percent of the bank's Rp 60- billion loans given in 1990 to 1996 have gone sour," he said.

According to Bank Indonesia (the central bank), only 11.7 percent, or less than Rp 10 trillion, of the total loans given to the agricultural sector during the period between 1991 and February 1996, were allocated to fisheries.

In comparison, plantations were allocated 69 percent of the total loans.

Bank Rakyat said in its paper at yesterday's seminar that the low portion of loans given to fisheries and the agricultural sector in general, was caused mainly by the high risks incurred by the products' sensitivity to environmental changes and price fluctuations.

"The demand for agricultural products is inelastic and the sector's added value is small compared to other sectors," the paper read.

The bank said that fisheries, shrimp pond businesses in particular, showed low rates of loan repayment. Some businesses failed because of errors in cultivation and management techniques, lack of expertise and unfavorable and unanticipated environmental conditions. (pwn)