REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- By Andi Abdussalam

Amid government efforts to revitalize idle shrimp ponds and develop pilot projects in 32 districts across the country, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) will commence shrimp cultivation early this year.

In the future, the Kadin sees bright prospects for the shrimp aquaculture business in Indonesia, as the prices of this commodity are showing a bullish trend in the global market.

The bright prospects have also encouraged the government to develop pilot shrimp demonstration farm (demfarm) projects in 32 districts in its seven provinces, which include Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), South Sulawesi, and Lampung.

"Right now, the prospects of the shrimp commodity look promising," Kadin Chairman for Fisheries Affairs Yugi Prananto stated here on Wednesday last week.

He noted that the Kadin was promoting the cultivation of vannamei shrimp species in a number of provinces, including the one being cultivated in Karawang, the province of Banten.

Prananto explained that an investment of Rp500 million is required for every hectare of shrimp cultivation. He further added that the Kadin will conduct this business in cooperation with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

The Kadin's businesses will provide the requisite financing, seedling, and supportive infrastructure.

He expressed hope that the joint vannamei shrimp cultivation investment program will have a positive impact and will continue to function favorably.

Therefore, he stated that the Kadin will encourage its members to develop shrimp projects because the price of shrimp was appreciating and Indonesia was already using the shrimp cultivation technology.

"The overseas demand for shrimp is showing an upward trend," Yugi Prayanto noted, adding that the Kadin was planning to invest in the fishery cultivation sector, particularly in shrimp cultivation.

He remarked that the Kadin is keen to invest in the good prospects of shrimp aquaculture and has called on its businesses to boost investment in this sector.

"The cultured fish business, in general, has better prospects than catch fishing. The banks view this sector as more feasible, measurable, and its turnout is guaranteed," Yugi Prayanto claimed.

The Kadin's permanent Committee Deputy Chairman for Business Development, Marine and Fishery Technology Affairs, Harry Lukminto, believes that the country's shrimp business had good prospects, stating that Indonesia should harbor no doubts about marketing its shrimp produce. After all, it boasts the longest and second-best coastline in the world. This ensures its ability to provide fish throughout the year.

Lukminto noted that the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry was on the right track with its support for the maritime and fisheries industrialization programs.

The Kadin's interest in the cultivation of shrimp is in accordance with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), which has developed shrimp pilot projects in several parts of the country.

Apart from that, the MMAF has also launched a number of programs intended to educate the people on shrimp cultivation in various regions so that the production and competitiveness in the world market of this commodity can be increased.

"We need to impart education to shrimp farmers, in stages, so that they are well-informed about the different stages of technological application in shrimp farming," Director General for Cultured Fisheries Affairs Slamet Soebjakto reported recently.

He added that with stage-wise edification, the shrimp farmers will become progressively aware of the traditional, traditional-plus, semi-intensive, and intensive systems. These systems should also be eco-friendly, by the application of, what is dubbed as good fisheries cultivation standard (CBIB).

The director general claimed that the shrimp pond revitalization program launched by the MMFA was aimed at encouraging and accelerating the development of shrimp industrialization in the country.

He reminded that until last year, the MMFA had rehabilitated a number of shrimp ponds and the development of demfarm projects in the 32 districts in its seven provinces.

In 2013, the government conducted revitalization programs on 20 thousand hectares of shrimp ponds located in Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, and Lampung.

To realize its production target of 608 thousand tons of shrimp in 2014, the government has allocated a budget of Rp240 billion for the revitalization of idle shrimp ponds.

Slamet pointed out that the revitalization program, which was a pilot project, was able to spur the development of new shrimp ponds near the demfarm projects.

"This program is part of the agricultural, forestry, and fishery revitalization programs announced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005, but was realized only in 2012, by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries," the Director General stated.

He further added that the revitalization of idle shrimp ponds has been neglected so far, and this program will help increase the productivity and improve the welfare of the breeders and people.

Moreover, the government is continuing its efforts to increase the national shrimp production in order to meet the demands of both the local and international market.

"We are revitalizing the shrimp aquaculture so that we can set a production target of 608 thousand tons, up 30 percent from the recorded production of 457,600 tons in 2012," Slamet told the media.

According to Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, Indonesia has a larger potential as compared to its competitors in the other Southeast Asian countries.

Indonesia has 1.2 million hectares of land area, of which 773 thousand hectares have major productive potential for shrimp cultivation.

The disease-free shrimp cultivated in Indonesia offer the country yet another competitive edge in developing shrimp aquaculture, apart from its land potential.

Minister Sharif claimed that the Indonesian shrimp produce was free of any toxic residue and had high economic value in the global market. Therefore, shrimp deserved to be named as a mainstay commodity.

"The annual application of the National Residue Control Plan (NRCP) by the MMFA has succeeded in getting the Indonesian shrimp produce free of any residue and in leading the European Union Commission to lift its sanction on Indonesian shrimp exports," the minister stated.

He added that Indonesian shrimp were immune to the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) disease, which had infected the shrimp produce in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. This was one of the key reasons why Indonesia's shrimp has high economic value and has experienced high market demand during the past few months.

The data furnished by the MMFA revealed that during the first semester of 2013, Indonesia's shrimp exports touched US$723.6 million, accounting for 36.7 percent of the total value of Indonesia's marine and fisheries exports, which stood at US$1.97 billion.

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