VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Maritime and Fishery Ministry has encouraged fishery export increase to the Middle East since it is a market opportunity that needs to be optimized. That was stated by  Head of National Fish Quarantine, Quality Control, and Fishery Products Safety (BKIPM), Rina in a press release on Saturday (31/7).

Rina also stated that Indonesia needs to recognize the regulations on fish health guarantee systems and special export regulations in the Middle East. This international-standard fish health guarantee system refers to the World Organization for Animal Health (OiE), FAO (Codex), and special regulations of the trade partner countries, including the Middle East. She further remarked that referring to the International Trade Center (2020), in 2017 until 2019, the average fishery product demand from Middle Eastern countries grew by 4.3 percent year on year. The Middle Eastern fishery commodity import value in the same period was averagely 2.64 percent from the total world's fishery commodity import value.

Rina said that Indonesia has been importing canned tuna into some Middle Eastern countries. However, the export value is still far behind Thailand that controls 71 percent of the Middle Eastern import market for tuna, mackerel-tuna, and skipjack. Meanwhile, the potential markets for Indonesian business people can include shark catfish and other freshwater fishes. Currently, the top shark catfish exporter to the Middle East is Vietnam.

Besides commodities for consumption, Rina ensured that there is still an export opportunity for ornamental fish, which is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. Indonesia has the production and highest diversity of ornamental fish in the world.

Previously, Director General of Maritime and Fishery Product Competitiveness Value Strengthening, Artati Widiarti said that the maritime and fishery sector made a positive performance in the first five months of 2021. The trade value surplus of this sector was US$1.9 billion. It increased by 3.72 percent compared to the same period last year. Cumulatively, the fishery product export value in January until May was US$2.1 billion or increasing by 4.94 percent compared to the same period in 2020.

These export values came from the main commodities, including shrimp, tuna, skipjack, mackerel-tuna, squid, cuttlefish, and octopus. The main export destination is the U.S, followed by China and ASEAN countries.

As many as 266 Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) participated in an outreach vaccination acceleration program of Covid-19  which was organized by the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) Hong Kong in collaboration with the Hong Kong Center for Health Protection (CHP) on Sunday (01/8).  This collaboration initiative is to protect the migrant workers from the threat of the Covid-19. This is in line with the encouragement of the Indonesian government that by participating in the vaccination program, it can maintain people’s health and environment and it can also break the chain of the Covid-19 transmission.

Indonesian Consul General in Hong Kong, Ricky Suhendar explained that  health is an asset that must be maintained, particularly  when the people work overseas. So, it is important for all Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong to get vaccinated. Consul General Ricky also conveyed to the Labor Department in order to always urge the employers so that they provide adequate rest time for workers after receiving the vaccine.

The government of  Hong Kong gave special attention for the Outreach Vaccination program, including the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr. Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, JP and Dr LAW Chi-kwong, Secretary for Labor and Welfare who also attended the vaccination program. It is also the beginning of a series of commemorations of the 76th Indonesian Independence Day in Hong Kong. In line with the theme of Indonesia's 76th Anniversary of "Indonesia Resilient, Indonesia Grows", PMI in Hong Kong is expected to have resilience so that they can continuously  work for the development of Indonesia.

Rengganis Crater as a tourism attraction was created as a result of the ancient Sunda volcanic eruption that occurred several million years ago. The name Rengganis has only recently been heard, because the local residents are more familiar with the crater by the name Cibuni. This name change occurred, due to a change in the management of the area in the Ciwidey area which is currently managed by Rancabuli Agritourism. Rengganis Crater has a very beautiful atmosphere, with views of towering trees, so this area becomes beautiful. Here, you will not smell the pungent smell of sulfur. The crater pool can be used for bathing and as a health therapy because the crater here is traversed by the river water which is quite clean, so it is safe to use for bathing.

If you soak in the pool of Rengganis Crater, you will feel extraordinarily relaxed because of the hot springs. The serenity and calmness of the heart will be felt to seep to the bones. The sulfur content is able to cure skin diseases. This water current is also used by Cimanggu hot springs. Another reason why you are recommended to visit this place is because of the spa facilities. Here, there are two small geysers or hot springs that can gush upwards. The result of this burst creates a large amount of steam, so you can use this place for a natural sauna bath. You will feel a different experience to enjoy the hot sauna directly from nature. Rengganis Crater also has a location in the form of mud. It is said that this mud has special efficacy, namely, being able to tighten and smooth the skin.

Rengganis Crater is located in Patengan Village, Rancabali District, Bandung Regency, West Java. You can visit this place from 8 am to 5 pm local time. Getting to this area is quite easy. You have to visit the Ciwidey area, more precisely in Situ Patenggang as far as 2 km. After buying a ticket worth Rp 5 thousand, you have to walk 1 km. The price is relatively cheap enough to enjoy the various kinds of beauty here. This ticket price does not include parking fees of Rp 5 thousand for motorbikes and Rp 10 thousand for cars. The facilities here are quite complete starting from food stalls, toilets and lodging. This tourist area also applies strict health protocols.

The Indonesian government is accelerating a vaccination program to address the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and reduce the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the distribution of vaccination programs in a number of regions in Indonesia faces problems. In fact, vaccination is one of the major keys in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on experience in a number of countries, the higher the ratio of the population gets vaccinated, the lower the fatality rate is.

The government has also intensified the vaccination program to achieve the target of at least 70% of the total population in order to create herd immunity.

Based on data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), which was released on the Kemenkes.go.id on Thursday (29/7), only 44.6 million people have been vaccinated. This number is equivalent to 16.5% of Indonesia's total population of 270.2 million people in 2020. Meanwhile, 17.9 million people have received the second vaccination or 6.6% of the population.

Logistics problem is also another factor of inequality, because not all Public Health Centers or Puskesmas throughout Indonesia have logistics that support the vaccination program. The limited number of vaccinators is also the reason why the vaccination coverage in Indonesia is uneven. Until now, the Ministry of Health has not specifically released data on the number of corona vaccinators in all provinces. However, the distribution of the number of vaccinators can be estimated from the current data on health workers, considering that health workers are the main profession recruited to carry out the vaccination program.

Based on the Ministry of Health's release, Spokesperson for Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi admitted that the supply of vaccines was limited, only 30 percent or 151.9 million of the total need for around 462 million doses and there were still various obstacles, especially related to vaccine distribution. Thus, all stakeholders need to join hands and work hard to overcome this.

Hopefully, all of the problems, ranging from vaccine distribution and logistical readiness, especially the limited number of vaccinators, must be addressed and minimized to ensure that corona vaccination is evenly distributed throughout Indonesia. In addition, the determination of the priority scale for regions that receive vaccines, namely in areas with a high number of transmission cases can be resolved. Thus, the herd immunity target set by the government can be achieved immediately.