Indonesia’s fisheries exports recorded solid growth in the first 10 months of 2025, despite challenges in key markets, according to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). Export earnings from fisheries commodities reached US$5.07 billion between January and October, up 5.1% from US$4.82 billion in the same period last year, Acting Director General for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fisheries Products (PDSPKP) Machmud said on Thursday.
“There was an increase from US$4.82 billion to US$5.07 billion, representing year-on-year growth of around 5.1%. This is a fairly significant improvement,” Machmud told a press conference at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries’ media center in Jakarta.
He said overall export performance remained strong despite disruptions to shrimp exports to the United States. Shipments to the US still grew 2.6% year-on-year to US$1.6 billion, making it Indonesia’s largest export destination for fisheries products. Exports to China, however, declined 2.4% to US$962 million, mainly due to falling dried seaweed prices. Machmud explained that seaweed prices had normalized after surging last year.
“Previously, seaweed prices were very high, reaching IDR 25,000 to IDR 30,000 per kilogram. Now they have returned to IDR 15,000 to IDR 20,000, which explains the slight decline in exports to China,” he said.
In contrast, exports to ASEAN countries rose sharply by 22.7% to US$811 million, while shipments to Japan increased 2.3% to US$506 million. By commodity, shrimp remained Indonesia’s top fisheries export, generating US$1.4 billion, an 8.6% increase year-on-year. Exports of tuna and skipjack tuna rose 2.6%, while squid and octopus exports climbed 1.9%. Meanwhile, exports of swimming crab and crab declined 2.5%, affected by weaker prices and stiff competition from Alaskan crab.
Despite the decline in some products, Indonesia’s fisheries sector continued to post a large trade surplus of US$4.53 billion. Imports totaled only around US$500 million and were dominated by non-local species such as salmon, trout and cod. Machmud also highlighted investment performance in the marine and fisheries sector, which reached IDR 7.82 trillion in the third quarter of 2025. Processing and aquaculture attracted the largest share, with processing accounting for 32% of total investment.
Singapore emerged as the largest investor with IDR 510 billion, followed by China at IDR 410 billion and South Korea at IDR 400 billion. However, total investment realization has reached only 59.67% of the government’s full-year target of IDR 13.11 trillion. With one quarter remaining, Machmud projected total investment could reach IDR 10 trillion to IDR 11 trillion by year-end as the government continues efforts to attract both foreign and domestic investors.
December 11, 2025, CNBC Indonesia
(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20251211172554-4-693452/fantastis-nilai-ekspor-perikanan-ri-sentuh-us-507-miliar-naik-51)