ID :
369865
Wed, 06/03/2015 - 19:22
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Bali's Fish, Shrimp Exports In April Earned US$10.27 Million

Denpasar, Bali, June 3 (Antara) -- The export of fish and shrimps brought in foreign exchange worth US$10.27 million for Bali in April, posting an increase of 4.77 percent from the US$8.80 million recorded in March. "Year-on-year, the foreign exchange earned increased 2.91 percent. Last year, the export of fish and shrimps produced US$9.98 million," Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali Panasunan Siregar said here on Wednesday. He added that the export of fish and shrimps contributed 21.22 percent to Bali's total export value, which reached US$48.42 million in April, a 4.44 percent drop from that in March, when it reached US$50.67 million. Fish and shrimp are two of the five major export commodities of Bali, besides non-knitted clothing, jewelry (gems), wooden products and furniture, as well as home lighting. According to Siregar, the United States has the highest demand for fish and shrimp from Bali, absorbing 31.95 percent of the total exports, followed by Japan at 18.91 percent and Australia at 5.48 percent. Other markets of Bali's fish and shrimp are Singapore at 1 percent, Hong Kong at 5.92 percent, Spain at 3.49 percent, the Netherlands at 0.44 percent, Thailand at 6.59 percent, Germany at 0.31 percent, and France at 0.28 percent. The remaining export value of 25.53 percent penetrates markets of a number of other countries as the quality of Bali's fisheries products, especially tuna and shrimp, is competitive in foreign markets, Siregar pointed out. In the first four months of 2015, 499,258 live ornamental fish worth US$1.07 million, among others, were part of fisheries and marine products that were exported to foreign markets. This marks a 9.59 percent rise over that in the same period last year, when it was recorded at 457,826 fish worth US$982,740. Bali's prime fish export is tuna, which brings in the highest revenue of US$25.55 million, followed by snapper at US$1.88 million, grouper at US$5.27 million, other fish at US$7.20 million, and shrimps at US$878,484 million. Moreover, the Bali provincial administration enhances the development of the maritime and fisheries sector by providing outboard engine boats to fishermen so they can increase their catch, among other measures. According to Head of Bali's Marine Affairs and Fisheries Office Made Gunaja, the province has great potential for fisheries. However, it is quite difficult to boost production due to lack of catching equipment. The fisheries potential in Bali is some 147 thousand tons annually. In 2014, catch in the province amounted to 108 thousand tons.

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