After a preliminary finding by US investigators which cleared exporters of subsidy allegations and freed the country from countervailing duties, Indonesia is eyeing a larger share of the US shrimp market.

 

The US Department of Commerce announced its preliminary finding late last month, saying that Indonesia, along with Ecuador, was not proven to have given considerable subsidies to its shrimp farmers, while imposing such duties on China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after finding that the five major shrimp-supplying countries did in fact provide subsidies.

 

With this finding, Indonesian exporters will be exempt from countervailing duties effective until the end of the investigative period.

 

"We are sure that we will be able to boost our exports to the US to 60% to dominate the market by the end of this year, with other suppliers probably having to reduce their export quantities due to the anti-dumping policy," the general director for aquaculture at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Slamet Soebjakto, said on Tuesday, referring to the share of Indonesia's shrimp exports to the US compared to the total figure worldwide.

 

In addition to the US market, Slamet said the ministry was optimistic that Indonesia could also dominate the international market, with local production declared to be free from common shrimp diseases, such as early mortality syndrome (EMS).

 

Nearly half of Indonesia's shrimp exports currently go to the US. Shrimp shipments totalled US$484 million between January and October last year, up 4.8% from the same period in 2011.

 

Indonesia is the second-largest shrimp supplier to the US after Thailand, accounting for 16% of the US' total frozen shrimp imports, according to US trade data. The five countries imposed with countervailing duties make up almost 63% of the US' frozen shrimp imports, delivering around 258,000 tonnes of the food commodity, amounting to US$2.3 billion.

 

The department said frozen shrimp exporters from China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam had received government subsidies of 5.76%, 5.72% - 6.10%, 10.80% - 62.74%, 2.09%, and 5.08% - 7.05%, respectively.

 

The investigation into the case began late last year after the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries - on behalf of US producers - which accounts for 90% of the country's production, lodged a petition accusing overseas producers of enjoying unfair government subsidies that allowed them to sell their produce at lower prices, inflicting losses on local producers.

 

The final ruling from the investigation will be released on August 12, while the US Trade Commission will announce the final results on September 26. If the commission finds that imports from the five countries are materially injuring, or threatening material injury, the commission will issue countervailing orders on October 3.