Middle Eastern countries impose duties of as much as 35-40 per cent on fishery imports, and Iran has a 40 per cent duty on canned tuna.

“We will renegotiate the high import tariffs with countries in the Middle East such as Iran and Egypt,” said Saut Hutagalung, the ministry’s director of foreign trade, Jakarta Globe reports.

He informed that Indonesia seeks to negotiate through the Developing Eight (D8) grouping, although he declined to say when, to specify the level of tariff reductions sought and whether he had contacted Middle Eastern governments to conduct a discussion.

Founded in 1997, the D8 group comprises Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan and Malaysia. It seeks fortify economic cooperation between its member nations in the agriculture and fisheries industries especially.

Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are all being targeted for growth by the ministry. Indonesia exported USD 52.6 million of fish to the Middle East, or only 2 per cent of its USD 2.6 billion of fishery exports, in 2008.

Director General for Fish Treatment and Marketing at the Fisheries and Maritime Department Husein Martani said the 2010 is an export increase to USD 2.9 billion, Tempo Interaktif reports.

“If the import duties could be reduced, we may be able to increase trading to Middle East,” Saut said.
Indonesia’s main seafood exports include frozen and canned tuna, octopus, frozen shrimp, shrimp crackers, frozen milkfish and crab.

Johannes Kitono, the vice chairman of the Indonesian Fisheries Industry Association (GAPPINDO), stressed the import of diversifying export markets and especially so since the European Union’s (EU) employment of stricter regulations.

“We have only focused on maintaining markets in the EU, [the] US and Japan. It’s good if the government finds new markets,” he said.

Maritime and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad pushed exporters to consider new markets in the Middle East last November due to the EU’s new rules demanding comprehensive health certificates and a list of heavy metals and other chemicals contained in their products to be included with consignments.

To compete in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the government has been asked to negotiate the dispensation of numerous seafood products. Indonesia will be in a bind if it does not protect its products because China continues to be recognised as one of the fisheries giants in the world.

Fadel has thus carried out innovations such as shortening and simplifying fishery permit applications.

Indonesia exports about 70 per cent of its seafood to Japan, the US and the EU, 12 per cent to Southeast Asia and 11 per cent to Northeast Asia.

Source: FIS

Updated by Vietfish Community