Indonesia shrimp exports drop 11 percent in 1998

Indonesia shrimp exports drop 11 percent in 1998

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign exchange earnings from shrimp exports
increased by 11 percent to US$1.5 billion last year from $1.35
billion in 1997, an executive said here on Wednesday.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Shrimp Feedmeal
Producers Johannes Kitono said that in terms of volume Indonesian
shrimp exports increased by 3.8 percent to 108,000 metric tons in
1998 from 103,950 tons in 1997.

"But the growth in exports in the last year was much lower
than the 16.24 percent increase recorded in 1997," he said at a
seminar on shrimp cultivation.

This lower growth, he said, was partly due to the rampant
looting of shrimp ponds which had resulted in lower production
last year.

Johannes said Indonesian shrimp exporters should diversify
their markets if they wanted to increase their world market
share.

He said that local shrimp exporters were too proud of being
the biggest exporter of shrimps and prawns to Japan, making them
reluctant to look into other potential markets.

"The United States market has great potential. Many Americans
have shifted their diet from red meat to white meat. They now see
shrimps and prawns as their main sea food," he said.

He said Indonesia's shrimp exports to the U.S increased by 19
percent to 15,285 metric tons last year from 12,824 tons in 1997.

But Johannes said that weak trade diplomacy has put Indonesia
far behind Thailand in benefiting from U.S. market potential.

Thailand has been the biggest shrimp exporter to the U.S in
the past three years while Indonesia ranks fifth. Last year,
Thailand exported 92,265 tons of shrimps and prawns there.

He said Thailand has successfully convinced the U.S government
that the shrimps exported were from cultivated ponds and not from
marine catches. The U.S government has embargoed shrimps and
prawns caught from the sea since 1996 because this would threaten
the life of several protected marine animals like sea turtles.

He also said that Thailand's shrimp and prawn products had met
U.S standards, while many of Indonesia's shrimp exports were
still being rejected because they did not meet those standards.

Johannes also said that the government has to work very hard
to meet the target of 1 million tons of shrimps and to export
600,000 metric tons by 2003.

"The plan would need an investment of about Rp 39.45 trillion
in order to expand shrimp ponds and to improve quality. However,
this is very hard given the small budget allocated by the
government to the fisheries sector," he said. (gis)