Indonesia has resumed shrimp exports to the U.S. Illustration photo by Pexels
Indonesia has resumed shrimp exports to the U.S. with a 182-tonne shipment worth IDR25 billion (US$1.5 million) after receiving certification that they are free of Cesium-137 contamination.
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Wahyu Sakti Trenggono said during an event on Wednesday at the Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, that this was the second shipment since the government ensured that Indonesian shrimp products meet international radiation safety standards.
It indicates that the trust of the U.S. market is starting to recover, he said, as quoted by Indonesian weekly magazine Tempo.
Trenggono said that the certification of being free from Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, was issued through cross-institutional cooperation between the fisheries ministry, the National Research and Innovation Agency and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency.
The Head of the MMAF Quality Assurance Agency, Ishartini, explained that the agency has been designated as a certifying agency by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) since Oct. 31 this year. Only fishery products that pass the Certificate of Quality and Safety of Fisheries Products (SMKHP) and radiation tests can be exported with this status.
Indonesia had earlier exported 121 containers of shrimp in October after the fisheries ministry conducted radiation scanning of 920 containers bound for the U.S.
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