ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA — Indonesia is stepping up efforts to attract global investment into its seafood processing industry after fishery exports climbed to US$6.27 billion in the 2025–2026 period, reinforcing the country’s ambition to become a leading blue economy and seafood manufacturing hub in the Indo-Pacific.
The export performance, driven by shrimp, tuna, skipjack, squid, cuttlefish, crab, swimming crab, and seaweed, highlights Indonesia’s growing role in global seafood supply chains. However, officials say the country’s next challenge is to move beyond exporting raw materials and build a higher-value processing industry capable of competing with regional manufacturing centers.
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said Indonesia is prioritizing downstream investment in seafood processing, cold-chain logistics, aquaculture technology, and regional innovation ecosystems to increase export value while strengthening domestic food security.
“Indonesia’s fisheries sector has become one of the country’s key economic engines, supported by strong domestic demand and expanding international markets,” BRIN Deputy for Regional Research and Innovation Yopi said during a national fisheries competitiveness forum on June 25, 2026.
Indonesia has set an annual fisheries production target of 24.58 million metric tons, with shrimp, tilapia, saline tilapia, lobster, crab, and seaweed designated as strategic commodities for industrial development and exports.
The government also sees the sector as a critical pillar for its blue economy strategy, which aims to combine economic growth with sustainable marine resource management.
Despite exporting seafood to 147 countries, including the United States, China, and Southeast Asian markets, BRIN noted that nearly 60% of Indonesia’s shrimp exports are still shipped as frozen raw products, limiting the country’s ability to capture higher margins from value-added processing.
Officials identified insufficient cold-chain infrastructure, high logistics costs, fragmented small-scale producers, and limited processing capacity as major obstacles to attracting larger international investors.
BRIN is promoting the establishment of regional innovation hubs to connect research institutions, local governments, universities, and private investors, accelerating technology transfer and commercialization across Indonesia’s fisheries industry.
According to senior BRIN marine aquaculture researcher Rachman Syah, Indonesia possesses one of the world’s largest marine resource bases but must diversify aquaculture production and strengthen climate resilience to remain competitive.
Seaweed production, which dominates Indonesia’s aquaculture output, remains vulnerable to climate change and diseases such as ice-ice, while shrimp farming faces increasing biological risks linked to rising ocean temperatures and bacterial outbreaks.
BRIN said greater investment in hatchery technology, biosecurity systems, environmental monitoring, seafood processing facilities, and premium product branding will be essential for Indonesia to capture more value from the fast-growing global seafood market.
With abundant marine resources, strategic shipping routes, and rising global demand for sustainable seafood, Indonesia is positioning itself not only as one of the world’s largest seafood exporters but also as an emerging destination for international investment in the blue economy and value-added seafood manufacturing. (AT Network)
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