Country's fisheries ministry bullish to become the world leader in shrimp. Indonesia's Maritime and Fishery Ministry has set the country's shrimp production target at 608,000 metric tons this year, a sharp increase of 46.2 percent from 415,703 metric tons in 2012, reported Antara News.
Production is continually growing, Slamet Soebjakto, fish breeding director general at the ministry, said.
Last year, production rose 4 percent compared to 2011. This year's target is based on production which already reached 320,000 metric tons in the first half of the year.
Producers would be boosted by the rise in prices as a result of growing demand in the world market, Soebjakto said.
In general, he sees Indonesia's potential far greater than other competing countries, especially in southeast Asia, who have been hit by the early mortality syndrome (EMS) disease.
The country has 1.2 million hectares of potential areas for shrimp farming with effective potency of 773,000 hectares, he said.
This could make the country the world's largest shrimp producer and exporter, he said.
The pilot project of shrimp ponds developed since 2012 in six regencies in northern coast of West Java, and Banten, would be expanded this year to 28 regencies in 6 provinces -- Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and Lampung.
Slamet said the country, however, will face heavy challenges in its ambition.
"The competition is sharp and in order to survive, producers have to be more competitive," he said. "For that purpose they have to continue to keep pace with the breeding technology."
The ministry has launched shrimp industrialization program which is expected to boost the country`s shrimp production. Technology, regulation and incentives are needed for sustainable breeding system, he said.