TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said Indonesia would boost shrimp exports to a number of countries, such as China, the United States, and Japan, to meet their high demands.

“Because the demands are high, and they cannot make production. So this is a good momentum,” said Luhut at his office in Central Jakarta, Friday, July 24, 2020.

Luhut revealed that Indonesia had at least 100,000 hectares of pond lands, including mangroves, that were intensified for shrimp farming so that the commodity production could be increased. The lands are located in Sulawesi, the southern coast of Java, until Aceh Singkil.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, he added, was mapping areas for shrimp farming. For the early stage, until the end of the year, the government planned to activate 30,000 ponds.

“We are inventorying the lands to be immediately utilized,” he added. The ministry is expediting the administrative process of the land use, such as granting permits for the installation of wastewater management.

Based on the ministry’s research, one hectare of land is projected to produce 30 to 40 tons of shrimps. This labor-intensive program can also open up jobs for thousands of people, Luhut Pandjaitan said.

The government targeted exports in processed shrimp products will increase by 250 percent within four years, or at 363.067 tons in 2024, compared to the volume in 2018 at 145.226 tons, while shrimp production for export raw materials will reach 578.579 tons in the next five years, from 197.433 tons in 2018.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA