Government Slaps Restriction On Fish Imports

Jakarta, Sept 26 (Antara) - The marine and fishery ministry said it has imposed restriction on fish imports to protect local fishermen. "Imports have been limited only to a number of fish species with tight control," secretary general of the ministry Sjarief Widjaja said here on Friday. According to Sjarief , the ministry imposed the restriction to give priority to domestic production to achieve food security and to protect traditional fishermen. Strengthening domestic market become more important as more than 70 percent of the country`s fish production is for domestic consumption, he said. The policy to create stability of and strengthening the domestic market is to reduce the need to import fishes, he said. "Indonesian market must not become an open market for imported fish products," he said. He said the policy has produced results with imports declining 21 percent over the past several years. Sjarief said fish imports are still much lower than exports, adding imports is only around 20 percent of exports in value. "Indonesia still has a big surplus in fish trade," he said. He said license from the ministry is needed for imports of fish in a bid to protect local products. In addition importers are required to meet the security and quality standards , he said.