Indonesia’s radioactive shrimp case threatens livelihood of millions

Indonesia is the world's fifth largest shrimp exporter

Indonesia's shrimp industry has seen a 30-35 per cent drop in processing absorption after radioactive contamination was found in a US-bound shrimp batch in August, its farmers' association reported.

The shrimp came from a Jakarta-area industrial estate, later confirmed to contain Cesium 137. Its nuclear agency is now pinpointing the affected area's size. Indonesia, the world's fifth-largest shrimp exporter (six per cent of global exports), sends two-thirds to the US.

While the radioactive finding was in just one shrimp consignment from one company, PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS), U.S. and other foreign buyers are now waiting to determine whether all shrimp from Indonesia is safe, said Andi Tamsil, the head of Indonesia's shrimp farmers' association.

Prices have fallen by up to 35% in several regions, he said.

"Since BMS was added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's red list, shrimp absorption from farmers has decreased by around 30%-35%," Tamsil told Reuters.

In 2024, Indonesia exported about 215,000 tonnes of shrimp, valued at about $1.7 billion, according to government data. The U.S. is the main market for Indonesian shrimp, accounting for 63.7% of the total exports, followed by Japan.

"If this continues, millions of households that depend on this industry from upstream to downstream are at risk of losing their jobs," Tamsil said.

A worker sorts shrimps at a farm in Kebumen, Centra Java, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The shrimp industry had become the victim of negligence and the incident had shaken public confidence, he added. "This fatal mistake has caused the U.S. to question the safety of our food."

Indonesia established a task force after the U.S. FDA issued an advisory to American consumers, distributors and sellers not to eat, sell or serve frozen shrimp imported by BMS, doing business as BMS Foods, after their products were associated with Cesium 137 contamination.

So far, the U.S. FDA has listed 10 brands associated with BMS.

Cesium 137 is present in the environment mainly from past nuclear testing or accidents, like Chernobyl and Fukushima, according to the FDA's website.