Once four months old, they will undergo preliminary processing such as cleaning, peeling and frozen packaging at a local plant and then be shipped to Fuzhou, capital city of east China's Fujian Province.  

Seasoned prawn farmer Joni Setyawan is in charge of the farm. The 66-year-old has nearly four decades of experience in raising Vannamei prawns. Since 2021, he has been working with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujian MiaoTianHui Food Co., Ltd., focusing on prawn cultivation. 

Vessels carrying these seafood products will embark on a journey of approximately 20 days before arriving at Fuzhou Port, about 2,000 nautical miles away. Those products are unloaded, reloaded, and then transported to nearby cold-chain logistics bases and seafood processing enterprises. 

The Vannamei prawns from Indonesia will go through further processing, such as mixing and pounding, and transformed into prawn paste and packaged for quick freezing," said Lin Zhengrong, general manager of Fujian MiaoTianHui Food Co., Ltd. Known for its delectable and chewy texture, prawn paste is very popular in the Chinese catering market. 

Indonesia has provided Chinese aquatic enterprises with abundant fisheries resources. In the processing workshop of Fujian MiaoTianHui Food Co., Ltd., manager of the Production Department Wu Xiaohua and workers remove the skins and internal organs of Indonesian squids. On the other side, tuna loin is sliced to pieces about 2 cm thick. Then they are packaged and sold to all parts of the country. 

Setting up fishery bases in Indonesia has not only increased local employment opportunities but also boosted the income of residents, said Chen Qing'an, the legal representative of the Indonesian subsidiary of Fujian MiaoTianHui Food Co., Ltd., noting that the subsidiary has employed more than 300 local workers. Besides, enterprises also purchase seafood from local fishermen to increase their income. 

"I had three prawn ponds, but now I oversee a total of 70 ponds of two farms. My monthly income has multiplied and is very stable," said Joni Setyawan, adding that he has supplied about 1,200 tonnes of Vannamei prawns to China over the past year and a half. 

Thanks to the construction of “Two Countries, Twin Parks”, the industrial chains of both sides have achieved win-win benefits “hand in hand”.  

"Two Countries, Twin Parks" is a new model of international cooperation featuring two countries setting up industrial parks on each other's soil and jointly facilitating development. China-Indonesia “Two Countries, Twin Parks” is based on Fuzhou Yuanhong Investment Zone and Indonesia industrial estates such as the Bintan Industrial Estate. The project aims to explore the pairing cooperation mechanism with industries and infrastructure connectivity and reciprocal policies. 

The memorandum of understanding on the "Two Countries, Twin Parks" project was signed in January 2021. To date, the Chinese park has launched 27 investment projects with a total investment of 55.4 billion yuan (about 7.57 billion U.S. dollars) and 18 trade projects. 

It also serves as an innovative approach to deepening bilateral economic and trade ties, bringing tangible benefits to businesses in both countries. "The 'Two Countries, Twin Parks' project has benefited enterprises inside the industrial parks, offering more streamlined customs clearance services, saving us a significant amount of time," Lin said. 

The China-Indonesia “Two Countries Twin Parks” Industrial Cooperation Plan was released in September, 2022, with marine fishery listed as one of the five cross-border industrial chains. In Fuzhou Yuanhong Functional Zone, more and more fishing enterprises are expanding their businesses overseas. Saneheld (Fuqing) Food Co., Ltd. cooperates with Salim Group to establish 10 fishing bases in Indonesia. Fujian Yuguan Food Co., Ltd. plans to establish an international trade company in Indonesia. Fuqing Zhaohua Aquatic Food Co., Ltd. also plans to construct the third breeding base of 333 hectares.  

The development of China-Indonesia “Two Countries, Twin Parks” is on the fast track.  Two more berths will start construction in Yuanhong this year to pick up cold-chain containers. Therefore, it will be more convenient to transport the Indonesian aquatic products from the port to the freezers. Zhuang Ruishun, Level-2 Analyst of Administration of Yuanhong Functional Zone in Fuzhou New Area pointed out that the project will support more and more enterprises to explore the integration of industrial chains, supply chains, and value chains.  

Source: XINHUA