Prices of tuna drop by up to 50 percent
Prices of tuna drop by up to 50 percent
JAKARTA (JP): The price of tuna on the export market has
dropped by about 50 percent in the last couple of months due to a
decline in demand and fierce competition from China, an official
says.
The Ministry of Agriculture's Director General of Fisheries,
F.X. Murdjijo, during a meeting of Tuna Long Line Fishing
entrepreneurs in Bali, however, assured businesspeople that the
problem of declining tuna prices would be "gradually dealt with",
the Antara news agency reported.
Murdjijo did not elaborate.
According to Antara, fresh tuna from Bali for export to
countries such as Japan is currently priced at US$5.20 per
kilogram.
The one-day meeting -- attended by businesspeople in the
fisheries sector from Japan, South Korea, China and Indonesia --
discussed price issues and related government policies of each
country.
The director of farm supervision and fisheries processing,
Budi Susilo, acknowledged that the drop in tuna prices was
strongly related to China's immense production this year, which
occurred concurrently with the decline in Japan's domestic catch.
He said that since the meeting was also attended by Chinese
representatives, it would enable representatives from each
country to talk the situation over with Chinese producers.
"All the representatives from the fisheries associations will
try to curb China's production so that it will not damage the
market," Budi said.
According to the Federation of Indonesian Fishermen,
Indonesia's annual production from sea fishing currently reaches
only three million tons or a mere 23 percent of its sustainable
(allowable) catch of 6.8 million tons a year.
The federation blamed the small yield mainly on the lack of
fishing gear and fishing ships.
The Directorate General of Fisheries in a hearing with
legislators earlier this year reported that fisheries production,
both from freshwater and seawater, had increased by an average of
6.17 percent a year during the 1990 to 1994 period.
Last year, total fish production reached 4.02 million tons, of
which 76 percent came from marine fishing.
The volume of exported fish increased by an average of 13.68
percent during the 1990 to 1994 period and amounted to 520,570
tons last year, while export earnings increased by an average of
12.62 percent to reach $1.65 billion last year.
Meanwhile, fishing vessels during that period increased by an
average of 3.59 percent. In 1994, the total number of fishing
vessels -- consisting of unmotorized boats, boats with outboard
motors and motor-powered boats -- was 396,730.
Tuk Setyohadi, the chairman of the Federation of Indonesian
Fishermen, was quoted by Antara as saying that Indonesia
currently faces a severe shortage of fishing vessels.
This, he said, has prompted many local businesspeople to carry
out joint fishing operations with foreign companies after gaining
approval from Indonesian authorities.
He said, however, that although only 945 foreign fishing
vessels are permitted to operate in Indonesia, up to 1,350 could
be found roaming territorial waters.
Such practices, he added, caused big losses to the country.
All catches from the joint operations, he said, should be
brought first to Indonesian fishing ports before being exported.
"Some foreign fishing ships simply ignore the rule and export
their catch without bringing it first to Indonesian ports. This
has resulted in a loss of up to $1 billion a year for Indonesia,"
Tuk said. (pwn)