Government Encourages Exporters to Boost Shrimp Exports to Saudi Arabia

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesia's Ministry of Trade has encouraged fisheries exporters, particularly shrimp and shrimp product exporters, to resume and intensify exports to Saudi Arabia after the country’s food and drug authority reopened import permits for Indonesian shrimp products.

Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, said the decision by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to reopen export permits for Indonesian shrimp and shrimp products presents a major opportunity for national business players.

“The SFDA’s decision to reopen export permits for Indonesian shrimp and shrimp products is good news. With this opportunity reopening, we encourage shrimp and shrimp product exporters to intensify exports to Saudi Arabia once again,” Budi Santoso said in a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He expressed hope that the opportunity could be fully utilized to increase Indonesia’s fisheries exports to the Middle Eastern market.

Indonesia’s shrimp and shrimp product exports to Saudi Arabia had been suspended for around eight months since September 7, 2025, following concerns over Cesium-137 contamination in Indonesian shrimp products.

As a result of the issue, the SFDA temporarily suspended permits for four Indonesian exporters.

Director General of National Export Development at the Ministry of Trade, Fajarini Puntodewi, said the Indonesian government subsequently opened dialogue with the SFDA to address the matter.

According to her, Indonesia submitted various reports and supporting data regarding the safety of national shrimp products as the basis for reconsidering the reopening of export access.

“Now, based on the SFDA’s latest decision, the permits of the four exporters have been reactivated,” Puntodewi said.

She explained that efforts to reopen shrimp exports to Saudi Arabia were carried out through synergy among ministries and institutions.

The coordination involved Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the Cesium-137 Task Force under the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, and the Indonesian Trade Attaché in Riyadh in collaboration with the SFDA.