Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono is targeting to turn the country into the world's largest vannamei shrimp producer by pushing production to 16 million tonnes annually from the current figure of below one million tonnes.

Ponds at an Indonesian vannamei shrimp farm (Source: Global Aquaculture Alliance)

As reported by the local news agency Antara, to achieve this goal, Indonesia must begin developing new shrimp ponds spanning 200 thousand hectares until 2024. Currently, the country’s annual vannamei shrimp production is less than one million tonnes, below that of China, Ecuador, Viet Nam, and India.

"If we succeed in developing 200 thousand hectares of shrimp ponds, with two harvest cycles of 80 tonnes per hectare per year, based on an economic analysis, it could generate nearly 1,200 trillion rupiah," Minister Trenggono was quoted by Antara as saying.

He added that the development also aims to build a strong defense system to protect the nation’s maritime wealth.

Trenggono revealed that the KKP will also build aquaculture villages in several parts of Indonesia to boost the economy.

Source: VNA