People abroad are fond of eating salted fish from Indonesia. It is evident from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) records regarding the export of salted fish from Indonesia to other countries. BPS data, the volume of salted fish exports from Indonesia from January to November 2021 was 8.96 million kg with a value of USD 93.17 million. This value increased by 0.69% compared to the same period in the previous year which amounted to USD 92.53 million. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said that Indonesia as a maritime country has abundant marine biota, including salted fish commodities. "In addition to being able to make various types of food from processed fresh fish, the fish can also be processed into salted fish," he said as reported by Galamedia from InfoPublik on Saturday, February 12, 2022. BPS explained, with a population of approximately 1,900 residents and 342 families on Pasaran Island, they are divided into several community groups, namely 5 groups of processors with 48 processors, 2 groups of crab fishermen, 2 groups of fish cultivators, and 10 groups of green mussels.
Around 765 people are working in the salted fish cottage industry on the island. Most of them are homemakers who come from outside Pasaran Island. Coordinating Minister Airlangga also appreciated the salted fish processing women. “It is very good for the efforts of women to process salted fish, so they can generate the local economy here. Salted fish is also one of the foods favored by the Indonesian people, not only for local consumption, but also for export," said Airlangga. The average salted anchovy production in the region is approximately 3 tons per month for each processor, so the total production is estimated at 120-150 tons/month or around 1,140 tons per year.
As for the several types of salted anchovy produced, they are super rice anchovies, ordinary rice anchovies, buntiau anchovies, rc anchovies, jengki anchovies, and frog anchovies. The selling price ranges per kilogram from the most expensive, namely super rice anchovies worth IDR 120 thousand/kg to the cheapest, namely frog anchovies worth IDR 50 thousand/kg. Additional products, referring to BPS data, are salted squid and tanjan fish. In terms of marketing the salted anchovy, 50% of the production is marketed to DKI Jakarta, 30% to areas in Medan, Padang, Jambi, and surrounding areas, then 10% to areas in Karawang, Cianjur, Bandung and surrounding areas, and 10% to the local market in Lampung. The superiority of the anchovy rice in Pasaran Island can be seen from the processing system for the anchovy which is boiled on the boat after catching, to maintain the quality of the fish. "I hope that the salted fish processing business on Pasaran Island will continue to develop, so that it will contribute more to the production of salted fish in Indonesia. For quality, it should also be further improved so that it becomes the main choice of salted fish in this country, "said Airlangga.
