A worker arranges fish ahead of auction at the Muara Angke port in Jakarta, Indonesia
Image Source: Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks Covid-19’s impact on trade. Sign up here, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis on the pandemic.
Indonesia continues to sell fish to China after the coronavirus was discovered on the packaging of a local seafood exporter’s products, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said.
China suspended imports from the company for one week but that does not apply to other Indonesian fish exporters, the ministry said in a statement Saturday. The affected business’s health certificate services have been suspended and the government is investigating, it said.
The ministry only identified the exporter by the initials PI. The Chinese customs office said on Sept. 18 that it found the coronavirus particles on the packaging of frozen fish exported by PT Putri Indah.
Chinese authorities have been examining imported meat, seafood, packaging and containers as potential sources of the coronavirus since June after repeatedly finding traces of it. Still, only six of more than 500,000 samples have tested positive for the coronavirus, China customs said earlier this month.
China is Indonesia’s biggest destination for fish exports. It shipped more than 168,300 tons there last year, worth more than $240 million, according to Indonesia’s statistics bureau.
Source: Bloomberg