The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has begun tightening oversight of foreign companies supplying fish‑based food products to Indonesia, in line with Government Regulation No. 1 of 2026 on Food Safety.
Head of the Agency for Quality Control and Supervision of Marine and Fisheries Products, Ishartini, emphasized that as the competent authority for quality and safety of fishery products, her office has initiated registration activities for foreign companies supplying fish‑based food to Indonesia.
“This step is to ensure that fish‑based food entering Indonesia complies with sanitation, hygiene, and food safety standards to protect consumer health,” said Ishartini in a press release on Monday, March 9, 2026.
Mandatory Quality Testing
Ishartini further detailed that monitoring is carried out through quality surveys, laboratory testing, and registration of foreign companies supplying fresh fish products.
She stressed that only companies with a Ministry registration number are permitted to trade fishery commodities in Indonesia.
Registration numbers are issued after strict inspections by Ministry Quality Inspectors under a pre‑border inspection scheme, ensuring quality assurance is applied from upstream production to products entering the national supply chain.
Currently, the Ministry has mapped eligible companies through a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) mechanism with competent authorities from partner countries.
Seven countries are included in the scheme so far: Vietnam (849 companies), China (798), South Korea (184), Norway (42), Canada (24), Russia (11), and Saudi Arabia (1).
For countries without MRA cooperation, their fishery products must pass quality testing at Ministry‑appointed laboratories before receiving distribution permits in the domestic market.
Indonesia remains one of the world’s largest net exporters of fishery products. Ministry records show that from January to September 2025, fishery export volumes reached 1,003,349.76 tons, valued at more than USD 4 billion.
Meanwhile, import volumes were far lower — only 308,905.29 tons worth USD 463,552. Fishery imports are tightly regulated in terms of licensing, species, and quality, accounting for just about 30.79%.
