TAWAU FISH MARKET

‘Tawau fish trade dependent on supply from Indonesia

The survival of major fish processing plants in Tawau is dependent on the volume and quality of raw materials from Indonesia.

On Indonesia’s status as an important fisheries trading partner for Sabah, ranking only second to Peninsular Malaysia in terms of fish imports during the 1991-1999 period, he said imports from there made up 13-23 per cent (mean 16.4 per cent) of the annual fisheries imports.

Except for 1998-1999, fish exports to Indonesia are negligible, representing only 0.02-1.41 per cent (mean 0.29 per cent) of Sabah fish exports

Fisheries imports from Indonesia can be grouped into four main categories -

1) fish,

2) shrimp,

3) spiny lobster and

4) miscellaneous dried products.

Frozen fish comprising high value species. These 6 species make up the bulk of the annual imports :

1) pomfret,

2) trevally,

3) threadfin,

4) spanish mackerel,

5) snappers and

6) groupers

Other :

1) shrimp (frozen or chilled),

2) spiny lobsters and

3) other miscellaneous products (dried or salted forms).

The average fisheries import prices fluctuated between RM3.46 and 7.69 per kg during the 1991-1999 period.

Statistics for the 1991-1997 period showed fisheries exports to Indonesia amounted to 6,380 metric tonnes annually, which comprised canned fisheries products and other processed fish products that had been imported mainly from Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand.

Sabah imported a total of 9,432 metric tonnes of fish products worth RM50.7 million from Indonesia during the 1991-1999 period. This represents only 2.7 per cent by volume and 0.5 per cent by value of the State fisheries imports.

Tawau is the main focal point of fisheries trade (barter) with Kalimantan, Indonesia, the prices of fish products were negotiated by fish traders on both sides of the border based on current supply and demand or previous mutual agreement.

Prices are fixed in the more stable Malaysian ringgit with payments made, either in Indonesian Rupiah or US dollars, according to the current exchange rates.

Large portion of these raw materials imported from Indonesia consisted mainly of high value species targeted for both the domestic and international markets, including Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China, USA and Europe.

To ensure regular supply of raw materials from Indonesia, a number of the fish processing plants in Tawau have established sister plants or trading houses with Indonesian partners in Eastern Kalimantan. Raw materials are obtained from Kalimantan and Sulawesi.