Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has completed an agreement to reduce export tariff posts, from 9.6 percent to zero percent for four processed tuna commodities to Japan.

The zero-percent export tariff applies to canned tuna and canned skipjack tuna as well as two tariff posts for katsuobushi, with HS Code 1604.14-091, and other tuna products, with HS Code 1604.14-099, originally from 9.6 percent to zero percent.

"After a series of negotiations, we reached an agreement on a zero-percent tariff for tuna. This is a gift from us to the tuna business owners in Indonesia," the ministry's Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products (PDSPKP), Budi Sulistiyo, stated in Jakarta on Friday.

According to Sulistiyo, the two zero-percent tariff posts, especially for katsuobushi, apply with certificate requirements stating that the raw material is originating from skipjack tuna, with a minimum length of 30 cm.

"This agreement will come into effect by the end of 2024 (at) the earliest after the ratification process is completed," he said.

He noted that Japan is the world's second-largest importer of skipjack tuna, with an import value of US$2.2 billion, or a share of 13 percent, in 2022 after the United States, with a 15-percent share.

The main supplier countries for skipjack tuna to Japan are Taiwan at 18 percent, China at 11 percent, and Thailand, 11 percent, while Indonesia is in the sixth place, with a share of seven percent, he said.

Meanwhile, for the four HS codes for processed tuna and skipjack tuna, Japan's imports, amounting to US$395 million, were dominated by supplies from Thailand at 58 percent, Indonesia at 18 percent, the Philippines at 16 percent, and Vietnam at four percent.

Although it has been agreed, Sulistiyo noted that Indonesia is proposing a certification requirement for the length of skipjack tuna raw materials of at least 30 cm to be integrated with the Fish Catch Results Certificate (SHTI) integrated with the Japan Catch Documentation Scheme (JCDS).

Following up on this agreement, the KKP Ministry is currently strengthening and regulating the Fish Processing Unit (UPI) that will utilize this new policy.

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Translator: Sinta Ambarwati, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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