Bali's Canned Fish Exports Worth US$20.08 Million

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali exported 8,488.8 tons of canned fish worth US$20.08 million in the January - November 2010, Head of Bali's Maritime and Fisheries Service I Gusti Putu Nuriatha said.

Nuriatha said that the canned fish exports in the seven month period in 2010 increased 5.38 percent compared with that in the same period a year earlier which were US$19.06 million.

"However, if it was seen from the volume aspect, the exports declined 2.49 percent because Bali's exports of the same commodity in 2009 stood at 8,705.9 tons," he said.

He said that the canned fish which was exported to Japan, the United States and Europe, was produced by the Pengambengan canned fish factory in Jembrana district.

"The canned fish is one of the 12 kinds of fishery products that are able to penetrate the world market," Gusti Putu Nuriaha said.

In the meantime, Bali province's ornamental fish exports in the January-November 2010 period rose 9.99 percent to US$1.02 million from the same period the year before.

"The ornamental fish exports fell 0.22 percent by volume compared to the same period in the previous year when 785,202 heads of ornamental fish were shipped," Gusti Putu Nuriatha said.

The drop in the volume of ornamental fish exports was among others the result of unfavorable climate that caused difficulties to fishermen to catch ornamental fish, he said.

After all, the province still had a chance to increase ornamental fish exports in 2011 and the upcoming years, he said.

The ornamental fish was exported to Japan, the United States, Australia and Europe.

Ornamental fish is one of Bali's 11 aquatic products which have so far penetrated the international market. The province earned US$107.15 million from aquatic product exports in the January-November 2010 period, a 13.28 percent increase compared to the same period the year before when the figure was US$94.59 million.

Gusti Nuriatha said the Bali waters was rich in a wide variety of ornamental fish. Fishermen catch the fish of high economic value near the province's beaches using very simple instrument.(*)