The Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI) or Indonesia Eximbank revealed that Indonesia was ranked second as the largest seaweed exporter in the world. The type of Indonesian seaweed that is well known in the global market is Eucheuma cottonii which has a portion of 71.59 percent of the total exports of Indonesian seaweed products in 2020.
Head of the LPEI IEB Institute Division, Rini Satriani, said that the type of seaweed Gracilaria sp is the second-largest seaweed export product with an 11.89 percent portion which is used as raw material for agar-agar. Indonesia's seaweed export destinations in 2020 are dominated by China with the largest portion (82.36 percent), South Korea (5.25 percent), Chile (3.20 percent), Vietnam (2.09 percent), and France (1.97 percent). "South Sulawesi is the origin of Indonesia's largest seaweed exports with a contribution of around 47.95 percent of Indonesia's total seaweed exports, followed by East Java with a contribution of around 26.60 percent," she told reporters, Monday (27/12).
From January to October 2021, the value of seaweed exports was 20.42 percent year on year (yoy), or 177.99 million US dollars. The cumulative export value growth was followed by export volume growth of 11.68 percent year on year (yoy) to 159.59 thousand tons compared to the same period last year of 142.90 thousand tons. "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that is still engulfing the world, Indonesian seaweed exports began to record positive cumulative performance during the January-October 2021 period. This increase occurred due to increased demand from Indonesia's main trading partner, namely China," she said.
Rini sees the positive trend of export performance and the extraordinary potential, Indonesia needs to optimize the production capacity of this seaweed commodity. Through the Consulting Services Program, LPEI launches the Foreign Exchange Village program based on community or community development for areas that have superior export-oriented products to develop the economic, social, and environmental potential for the welfare of their people. "Some time ago, LPEI/Indonesia Eximbank just inaugurated a seaweed-producing Foreign Exchange Village located in Kupang Village, Sidoarjo, East Java," she said.
In the future, this increase is expected to continue to strengthen along with increasing public awareness of a healthy lifestyle. Seaweed as one of the raw materials for processed foods and pharmaceuticals is predicted to still have high demand.
Seaweed exports in this case are goods with a six-digit HS code HS-121220; HS-121221; and HS-121229.
