Jakarta (VNA) – The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia is stepping up oversight of foreign companies supplying fresh fish products to the domestic market in an effort to enforce Government Regulation No. 1/2026 on Food Safety.
Head of the Marine and Fishery Product Quality Control and Supervision Agency Ishartini said the agency has begun registering foreign companies as part of its role as the competent authority overseeing the quality and safety of aquatic products.
In a press release issued on March 9, she stressed that the measure aims to ensure imported fish-based food products meet strict hygiene and food safety standards, thereby protecting consumers’ health.
Ishartini said the oversight is implemented through quality surveys, laboratory testing, and a registration process for foreign enterprises supplying fresh fish to Indonesia. Only companies granted a registration number by the ministry will be allowed to trade aquatic products in the country.
The registration code is issued following stringent inspections conducted by quality inspectors under a pre-border inspection mechanism. The process aims to ensure that product quality is maintained from the point of origin until the products enter Indonesia’s domestic supply chain.
Indonesia has also confirmed a list of foreign companies authorised to export aquatic products to the country under Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) with seven partner nations. Vietnam currently leads the list with 849 licensed companies, followed by China with 798 firms and the Republic of Korea with 184. Other countries include Norway with 42 companies, Canada with 24, Russia with 11, and Saudi Arabia with one.
For countries that have not yet signed an MRA with Indonesia, aquatic products must undergo quality testing at designated laboratories before they can be imported and circulated in the Indonesian market.
Despite tightening oversight on imports, Indonesia remains one of the world’s major net exporters of aquatic products. According to data from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the country exported more than 1 million tonnes of aquatic products worth over 4 billion USD between January and September 2025. During the same period, imports reached nearly 309,000 tonnes valued at about 463.55 million USD./.
