Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) working with Japan to remove tariffs on tuna and skipjack to enhance competitiveness of its fisheries industry.
KKP issued a statement saying it was facilitating a deal with Japan to remove tariffs from exports of tuna, skipjack, and eastern little tuna as part of the amended Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA).
“With no tariffs, our tuna and skipjack exports will become more competitive, and we are optimistic that Indonesia can become number one in Japan,” said Machmud, acting director general for the Competitiveness Strengthening of Marine and Fisheries Products (PDS) of the KKP.
Currently, Indonesia’s exports of canned and non-canned processed products to Japan are subject to an export of 9.6%.
Improving Traceability
In November last year, Indonesia implemented a government-operated seafood traceability system.
The National Fish Traceability and Logistics System (Stelina) was developed in line with the standards set by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST). The company claims to be the first in the world to do this at a national level.
Adopting the GDST standard through Stelina is a strategic move to strengthen Indonesia’s position in the global seafood market. With Stelina, buyers will be able to verify the origin of their fish, including the specific catching methods and processing details.