"The European Union has very strict regulations, especially in the standards of food safety."Jakarta, April 24 (ANTARA) - Indonesian fishery product companies will participate in the European Seafood Exposition (ESE) 2012 to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on April 24-26.
"Our participation is one of the strategic measures undertaken to support Indonesian fishery businessmen wishing to sell, to promote and to develop their products in the international market, especially in the European Union area," said Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sharif Cicip Sutardjo at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to the minister, Indonesia`s participation in this international-level exhibition was aimed at promoting Indonesia`s fishery products and penetrating the European market.
"We hope Indonesian trade, especially the export of fishery products, will be increased through this exhibition," he announced.
Sutardjo urged all the Indonesian participants to try their utmost to forge business deals in this largest seafood exhibition in the world, which is expected to reach out to 1,600 fishery businessmen from 140 countries.
"This event is the most effective way to establish trade contacts with fishery businessmen from all over the world," he remarked.
The minister added that he was optimistic about the reliability of Indonesian fishery products and hoped that Indonesia would become a supplier for the European Union market, which is known to have strict regulations.
"The European Union has very strict regulations, especially in the standards of food safety and sustainability," he explained.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the European Union, with the export market share of about 13 percent, is the third major export market for Indonesian fishery products after the United States and Japan.
The export values of Indonesian fishery products to the European Union have continued to increase in the last three years, from 293.35 million US dollars in 2009 to 330.68 million US dollars in 2010, which further increased to 460 million US dollars in 2011.
(T.A060/INE/KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
