Bali, 18 Desember 2024 – According to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in September 2024, the export value of Indonesia’s fishery products has reached USD 4.23 billion with a total export volume of 1.02 million tons. This export value has increased by 3.1% compared to the same period in 2023. The main export commodities are dominated by shrimp (28.1%), squid-cuttlefish-octopus (24.7%), and tuna-skipjack-bonito (7.9%). Indonesia exports many fishery products to the United States, Japan, China, ASEAN, and the European Union. The European Union is the largest importer of fishery products globally, with cod and tuna-skipjack-bonito being the largest imported commodities. The European Union also saw an increase in Indonesia’s tuna exports, with the value reaching USD 57.20 million and an export volume of 13,498 tons during this period.
Unfortunately, there are many factors preventing Indonesian fishery products from competing in the European Union. Many Indonesian fishery products still do not meet the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards. To obtain this certification, there needs to be human resources, especially in fish processing units (known as unit pengolahan ikan or UPI), that are certified. Therefore, in order to strengthen the Indonesian tuna fishery industry ecosystem, DFW Indonesia has collaborated with the Marine and Fisheries Training Center to conduct a Socialization on the Urgency of Certification and Competence in Tuna Processing. This socialization was held for the first time at the Samudera Fishery Port (PPS) Benoa, Bali, which is one of the strategic tuna centers in Indonesia.
The event was held on December 16-17, 2024, in collaboration with Fisheries Training and Extension Center (known as Balai Pelatihan dan Penyuluhan Perikanan or BP3) Banyuwangi and Indonesian Longline Tuna Association (known as Asosiasi Tuna Longline Indonesia or ATLI). This socialization was attended by representatives from 15 tuna processing companies in Benoa, Bali. “Tuna is one of the main commodities in international trade, especially in the European Union market. Unfortunately, Indonesia currently only has a market share of 1%, far behind Vietnam and Thailand. We formed this initiative to encourage Indonesia’s tuna market share in the international arena, which will ultimately improve the welfare of UPI workers in the future,” said Nabila Tauhida, Human Rights Officer DFW Indonesia.
BP3 Banyuwangi, represented by Iman Setya Dwi Ardani as an Instructor for Fishery Product Processing Sector and Competency Assessor at BP3 Banyuwangi, also explained the certification process conducted at Professional Certification Institute (known as Lembaga Sertifikasi Profesi or LSP) Banyuwangi.
“We fully support this cooperation initiative because we recognize the urgency of developing quality human resources in fish processing, particularly in fish processing units. Therefore, we encourage companies to provide training for their workers so that they can directly undergo certification tests at LSP Banyuwangi,” he said.
The event was followed by an observation visit and interviews at tuna processing factories. This socialization activity will continue with training and certification of competency tests for tuna processing workers, which is planned for 2025. Representatives of the companies we visited during this socialization also gave positive responses and supported the continuation of this cooperation.
“It is difficult to find workers who meet the qualifications for the desired positions, such as fish cutting techniques, product packing, and special skills in refrigeration machines. To address this issue, training to enhance workers’ competencies according to their respective areas of expertise is required,” said a representative from PT Segar Sari Laut.
