Indonesia has cornered a 15-percent share of tuna, skipjack, and mackerel tuna production globally to emerge as the world’s largest producer of the commodities, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has said.

The increase in Indonesia’s tuna production has been even higher than the world average, director of marketing at the Directorate General of Marine and Fishery Products Competitiveness, Erwin Dwiyana, said here on Tuesday.

“Indonesia saw an increase in production of 3.66 percent on average, higher than the world average increase of 3.42 percent,” he informed.

The Philippines, as the second-largest producer, has a production share of 7.3 percent, followed by Vietnam at 6.6 percent, and Ecuador 6.1 percent. The largest tuna production in Indonesia is of skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna.

However, Dwiyana said, even though it is the largest tuna producer, Indonesia has not been able to become the world’s largest tuna exporter.

Based on the trade map data of the International Trade Center (ITC), Indonesia was ranked sixth in tuna exports with a market share of 5.33 percent in 2020.

The world’s largest tuna exporter was Thailand, with a market share of 17.73 percent, followed by China (8.45 percent), Spain (8.20 percent), Ecuador (7.98 percent), and Taiwan (5.57 percent).

During the period from January to December 2021, at least 28.8 percent of Indonesian tuna, skipjack, and mackerel tuna exports went to the European Union, 24.7 percent to ASEAN countries, 17.9 percent to Japan, 8.7 percent to the United States, and 21.6 percent to other countries.

According to Dwiyana, the low market share of Indonesian tuna was due to its low competitiveness in terms of product, price, and service.

Source: Antara News