Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Investment in the Indonesian maritime and fisheries sector reached more than Rp4 trillion until the third quarter of last year and is targeted to increase to Rp6.3 trillion this year, an official said.

"Until the third quarter of 2017, investment in the maritime and fisheries sector reached Rp4.03 trillion," Director General for the Improvement of Competitiveness of Maritime and Fisheries Products at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Nilanto Perbowo said here on Thursday.

Nilanto said investment in fish catch and farming jumped 96.81 percent or Rp1.23 trillion in the third quarter of last year as compared to that of the same quarter of 2016.

Likewise, investment in the fish processing industry also rose 0.4 percent or Rp2.29 trillion compared to the same period of 2016.

Most of the investment in the maritime and fisheries sector came from Singapore, the Philippines, Belgium, China and Japan, he said.

Nearly 73 percent of the investment went to the fish processing industry, 19 percent to the production business and 7.25 percent to the commercial business.

As reported earlier, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is expected to increase investment in the maritime and fisheries sector as part of efforts to reduce the number of fishermen living in poverty and implement modern fishery industrialization in 2018.

"In 2018, the ministry must focus on ensuring the maritime and fisheries programs to achieve their target set in the medium-term national development plan (RPJMN)," coordinator of the Indonesian National Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW), Moh Abdi Suhufan said.

Reported by Muhammad Razi Rahman
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/B/H-YH)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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