TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo opined that the spread of coronavirus that was first emerged in the mainland of China is already distressing. To minimize the virus transmission to Indonesian, Edhy stated his ministry decided to restrict the import of fishery products from China.

“We are temporarily limiting the import. There is no problem so far but for the past one month, it is not easy to close imports from China,” said Edhy at the ministry’s office, Jakarta, Tuesday, February 4.

Edhy explained that the decision was not taken one-sidedly but on considerations of Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi’s recommendation as well. “We are asked to temporarily stop the import. We do not want to take the worst risk too,” he said.

According to him, the import restriction is only valid for live fish. “While for frozen fish, we will tighten the monitoring to ensure whether it is infected by the virus or not,” Edhy added.

He also had instructed the Fish Quarantine and Quality Control (BKIPM) to issue a circular letter on the matter to all work units in the exit or entry point of the import, either in airports, ports, or the country's cross-border posts (PLBN).

Additionally, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry coordinated with port management and Customs Office to keep monitoring fisheries imports from China.

Edhy Prabowo further reiterated that the Chinese government must understand Indonesia’s decision on import restriction as the emergency case of coronavirus escalates.

EKO WAHYUDI