Indonesia's Fisheries Exports Plunge Due to Iran War
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has recorded a decline in fisheries export volumes due to the war between the United States-Israel and Iran that broke out around late February 2026.
“From the volume perspective, there are indeed some constraints,” said the Head of the Marine and Fisheries Product Quality Control and Supervision Agency, Ishartini, in a written statement on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
Ishartini explained that the export decline was not caused by weakened demand. According to her, the drop in export volume occurred due to global supply chain constraints.
The global supply chain constraints resulting from geopolitical conflict include changes in shipping routes, additional logistics costs, and limited availability of containers and mother vessels. “All of these also contribute to increasing product prices,” she said.
Based on data from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the fish export volume during this war period decreased by 41.35% compared to last year. This volume weakening has impacted a 21.71% decline in export value.
Therefore, Ishartini stated that the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is striving to increase domestic absorption of fishery products. The aim is to maintain the stability of fisheries trade value, especially amid escalating geopolitics in the Middle East.
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries recorded that the value of fisheries exports from the beginning of the year until approaching Eid reached US$983,147,052.32. “Up to the temporary suspension of goods transportation on 13 March, our system recorded that fish exports to various countries had reached 197,718.80 tonnes, estimated at a value of Rp16.7 trillion,” said Ishartini.
Ishartini explained that the figure is based on data from the issuance of Certificates of Quality and Safety of Fishery Products (SMKHP) received by the export destination country authorities. The certificate serves as a requirement to meet food safety standards in 140 partner countries trading Indonesian fishery products.
The ten countries with the largest absorption of Indonesian fishery products are the United States, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Ishartini said that there are currently 486 HS Codes for fishery products consisting of thousands of exported products.
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries recorded the top ten flagship export commodities as vannamei shrimp, tuna, squid, blue swimming crab, seaweed, skipjack tuna, crab, tiger prawn, ribbonfish, and octopus.
According to her, this variety indicates a high level of acceptance of Indonesian fish in the global market, with its quality and safety trusted.