Delivering Aspirations for the Complexity of Shrimp Farm Licensing to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia

On Monday, May 8, 2023, representatives of Shrimp Club Indonesia (SCI) had the opportunity to have an audience with the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. Four SCI representatives took the opportunity to deliver concerns about the obstacles encountered by shrimp farmers to KH. Ma’ruf Amin, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Vice Presidential Palace.

One of the points of concern delivered to the Vice President was the difficulty of obtaining licenses and investing in shrimp farms in Indonesia. Shrimp farms have to process up to 21 types of licenses across ministries and institutions to obtain legality, not including licenses from the local government. The complexity of these licensing is thought to be inefficient, thus hindering the investment climate for shrimp farms in Indonesia.

Quoting from Antara News, Vice Presidential Spokesperson, Masduki Baidlowi mentioned that, "The Vice President will seek a solution for the two issues (shrimp farmer problems) and present them in a cabinet meeting."

SCI, through the aspirations delivered, hopes for a more concise licensing, and thus it will indirectly increase the investment appeal in one of the key sectors for Indonesian aquaculture. On this occasion, Aryo Wiryawan, JALA’s chairman, was also present in his capacity as the Head of Commission 4 of SCI.

JALA is committed to actively contributing to increase production as well as maintaining sustainability. One of the current initiatives being undertaken is the efficiency of licensing for shrimp farms, hence the productivity of the Indonesian shrimp industry can be manifested without neglecting the interests of legality including meeting quality standards for shrimp production and maintaining sustainability aspects.

The Vice Presidential Spokesperson added, "That’s what we will try to discuss at the upcoming cabinet meeting."

The shrimp industry is a strategic industry that can generate foreign exchange through non-oil and gas exports. The shrimp industry contributes around 42% of Indonesia’s total fishery export value.

The government has a target of increasing exports to win the world shrimp supply competition, competing with Ecuador, India, and Vietnam. The attainment of the production increase target is still hindered by complicated licensing regulations, and it is not well integrated with the ministries and local government.