Hamburg’s Director of International Relations Heinz Werner Dickmann told Indonesia’s fishery industry that consumption and re-export demand is high in Germany, tipping greater cooperations between the two countries in the future.
“To meet demand, Germany is highly dependant on supplies from other fish producing countries, including Indonesia,” Dickmann said, as quoted by Bisnis.
Managing Director of German Industrial Association and Fisheries Wholesalers Matthias Keller said Germany is Europe’s fourth biggest fishery processing industry centre. German fishery products consumption rate is also showing high demand, reaching 14 kilograms per capita in 2013.
That number is predicted to increase annually as the lifestyle of Germans change and the consumption of red meat decreases. The consumption of seafood has been steadily rising among Germans, from 1.11 million tonnes in 2013 to 1.15 million tonnes in 2016.
“The trend shows that Germany has high market potential for Indonesia’s fishery products export,” Keller said.
As a member of the European Union, Germany always emphasises the importance of legality in the industry and as one of the world’s largest suppliers, Germany is keenly monitoring Indonesian fishery policy development.
According to Dickmann, aside from the high potential to supply fishery products, cooperation with Indonesia will also raise bilateral trade value between the two countries.
Budhi Wibowo, Chairman of Indonesian Fishery Products Processing and Marketing Businessmen Association (AP5I), said that prawns, crabs and tuna are respectively contributed 42.43 percent, 13.86 percent and 9.34 percent to the national fishery products export in 2015. The European Union market absorbed 7.8 percent of Indonesia’s fishery products that same year.
Regarding the potential, Indonesian Tuna Association General Secretary Hendra Sugandhi said Indonesia’s production of tuna fish is considerably high. Tuna products are prepared and canned before being exported to Germany.
Sustainability concerns and import duties are major obstacles to Indonesia’s tuna exports to the European Union market, with fresh and frozen tuna loins attracting a 14.5 percent tariff and canned tuna attracting a 24 percent tariff.
In order to meet European Union standards, AP5I has invited German business to contribute to the sector in improving domestic aquaculture industry capabilities, particularly in compliance, capacity and quality.
To date, Indonesia’s aquaculture capacity has reached only 36.97 percent of its full potential. Potential investment opportunities are available in infrastructure development and the processing of fishery products, particularly in cold storage equipment.
See: A Closer Look At The Indonesia-EU Timber Agreement
Image credits: Detik