September 26, 2016

 

Indonesia a sleeping aquaculture giant
 

 

Aquaculture in Indonesia is largely untapped. Even then, the archipelagic country of 17,000 islands already ranks among the top four countries in farmed fish output. This virtually makes this archipelagic country of 17,000 islands a sleeping aquaculture giant. It is treading toward this reality as its prospects for continued strong growth remains bright, according to forecasts.

 

A report released in August and prepared by market analyst Ipsos says Indonesian aquaculture has registered a strong growth over the last five years. From 2011 to 2014, it posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7%. Contrast this with the 2.8% CAGR for capture fisheries.

 

From 2015 to 2020, the estimated CAGR for Indonesian aquaculture is 3.7%, much higher than capture fisheries' estimated 0.4% CAGR.

 

In 2014, Indonesia's aquaculture output trailed only that of China and was slightly ahead of India. This, despite the country's use of only 7.38% of its total potential area for aquaculture and the fact that more than 80% of Indonesia's fishery enterprises in 2014 were still traditional household enterprises and fishermen, using minimal technology.

 

Among key aquaculture commodities, shrimp generates the highest revenue on a per-kilogramme basis, according to the Ipsos report entitled "Indonesia's Aquaculture Industry: Key Sectors for Future Growth".

 

Shrimp export value growth fastest

 

"Shrimp export value has also exhibited the most rapid growth overall, growing at 16.6% CAGR in 2011–2014 period while fish and seaweed has grown at 1.4% and 12.8% CAGR in similar time period", the report said.

 

The shrimp export market, showing higher demand than the domestic market, grew at a CAGR of 6.9% during the period 2011–2015, compared with the domestic market's 5 %.  Majority, or 60%, of Indonesia's shrimp production was shipped to major markets such as the US, Japan and the EU. Indonesia is estimated to consume only around 40% of its shrimp production volume.

 

Ipsos estimates that the export market for Indonesia's shrimp will continue to register a healthy growth of 6% yearly from 2016 to 2020.

 

Ipsos said Indonesia would growingly rely on aquaculture-which comprises mainly shrimp, fish and seaweed-as growth of capture fisheries stagnates.

 

It advised companies looking for stronger growth opportunities to cater to the rapidly growing shrimp industry, whose 2014 export value reached US$2.3 billion. This exceeds that of fish and seaweed industry combined.-Rick Alberto

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