To pick up the pace, we need all stakeholders, both the government and private sector, to work hand in hand
Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - Indonesia's fisheries processing industry is predicted to grow 20 percent in 2020 as long as the government could remove some regulations that hampered its development, according to the Association of Indonesian Businessmen on Fisheries Product Processing and Marketing (AP5I).

Head of AP5I Budhi Wibowo noted in Surabaya, Sunday, the national fisheries industry is still lagged behind Vietnam with export only reached US$5 billion, compared to Vietnam's at US$9 billion.

"To pick up the pace, we need all stakeholders, both the government and private sector, to work hand in hand in the implementation of Presidential Instruction Number 7 of 2016 concerning the Acceleration of National Fisheries Industry Development ," Wibowo remarked.

Data of AP5I shows that export of fisheries products processing in 2019 has only recorded a five percent growth compared to those in 2018 due to lack of raw material, thus industrial machine utility only reached 50 to 60 percent. This has made the country's industry to be less competitive when compared with India, Vietnam and Thailand.

"As we know, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is currently reviewing some regulations that hamper development of the fisheries industry," Wibowo said, added that among the regulations that would be revised soon are regulations on ship's tonnage, ship-to-ship transfer regulations, and ban on certain types of fishing tools.

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Translator: A Malik, Suwanti
Editor: Sri Haryati
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