Source: Jakarta Globe
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries will seek to renegotiate hefty import duties charged by Middle Eastern countries on fishery products, as part of a plan to diversify the country’s fishery industry.
Middle Eastern nations impose import duties of up to 35 to 40 percent on imports of fishery products, with Iran imposing a 40 percent duty on canned tuna.
“We will renegotiate the high import tariffs with countries in the Middle East such as Iran and Egypt,†Saut Hutagalung, the ministry’s director of foreign trade, said on Monday, adding that Indonesia planned to conduct negotiations through the Developing Eight grouping.
He gave no time frame for the negotiations and declined to specify the level of tariff reductions Indonesia was seeking; nor did not say whether he had contacted Middle Eastern governments to discuss the issue.
Founded in 1997, the D8 group comprises Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan and Malaysia, and aims to strengthen economic cooperation between its member nations, especially in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
Along with Africa and Eastern Europe, the Middle East is one of the markets that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is targeting for growth.
In 2008, Indonesia exported $52.6 million of fish to the Middle East — just 2 percent of its $2.6 billion of fishery exports.
“If the import duties could be reduced, we may be able to increase trading to Middle East,†Saut said. The nation’s main seafood exports 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), said diversifying export markets was critical, especially since the EU was applying tighter import regulations. “We have only focused on maintaining markets in the EU, US and Japan. It’s good if the government finds new markets,†he said.
In November, Fadel Muhammad, the minister of maritime affairs and fisheries, urged exporters to consider new markets in the Middle East because of the increasingly strict EU rules, which require exporters to supply detailed health certificates and list chemicals, especially heavy metals, contained in their products.
Around 70 percent of Indonesia’s seafood exports are sent to Japan, the United States and the EU, 12 percent to Southeast Asia and 11 percent to Northeast Asia.