JAKARTADAILY.ID - Indonesia's sea area reaches 3.25 million square kilometers. But the great natural wealth has not been utilized as much as possible.
"Don't forget, our marine natural resources will provide great added value if we also downstream them. Remember that two-thirds of Indonesia is water, is the sea, is the ocean. The area of our sea is 3.25 million km2, it is huge, we haven't exploited its potential," said Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
The President made this message while speaking at the 2023 Financial Services Industry (PTIJK) Annual Meeting, Monday, February 6, 2023, at the Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta.
Therefore, Jokowi asked the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to provide support for downstream minerals and coal, especially those originating from marine wealth.
What are the riches contained in the vast oceans of Indonesia?
The President said that Indonesia, as the number one exporter of seaweed, had not been able to process the commodity.
However, Jokowi regretted that seaweed had not been maximized into finished materials, for example into carrageenan products.
He invited meeting participants to compare seaweed management in Indonesia with the People's Republic of China (PRC) or China. China is a country that relies on imports of seaweed but can become the number one exporter of carrageenan.
"PRC was the number one importer of seaweed and at the same time the number one exporter of carrageenan, this is what we have to emulate. We should be the number one exporter of raw materials, but also the number one exporter of carrageenan, that's how it should be. And, the added value here will jump,” he said.
Fish flour
The President added, in the fisheries sector, Indonesia is rich in tuna, skipjack, and tuna.
Jokowi said that Indonesia is the number one exporter of this commodity. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Indonesia is also the number one importer of fishmeal.
Therefore, the President requested that the fish meal product be produced domestically.
The Head of State views this condition as very funny because Indonesia has pushed out fish raw materials, then imported them again in the form of fish meal.
If Indonesian entrepreneurs are unable to develop fishmeal alone, the President encourages them to find business partners.
