Fish Processing in Brunei Darussalam
Postharvest
Development and Quality Control Division,
Department of Fisheries,
Fish Landing Complex, Serasa, Muara,
Brunei Darussalam.
bruneifisheries@brunet.bn
Introduction
Brunei Darussalam is
blessed with fisheries resources of which some types of fisheries are
currently lightly exploited. These fisheries resources are exploited
mainly for direct human consumption as well as raw materials for the fish
processing industry. Brunei Darussalam has been exploiting these resources
on a commercial scale since the early eighties. However, the aquaculture
and the fish processing industries only started later.
It has been estimated
by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources
(DOF, MIPR), that the value of the fisheries industry is worth B$ 200
million per year on a sustainable basis. From this, about B$ 112 million
(56%) is from the capture fisheries industry, B$ 71 million (35%) from the
aquaculture industry and the remaining B$ 17 million (9%) from the seafood
processing industry.
The production from the
fisheries industry in the year 2001 was 10,343 metric tonnes (m.t.), 339.4
m.t. and 273.1 m.t. for the capture fisheries, aquaculture and processing
industries respectively. Correspondingly, in terms of value it only
achieved B$ 45.9 million, B$ 3.8 million and B$ 2.5 million, respectively
(DOF, 2002). The contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is still
relatively small at B$ 45.3 million (JPKE, 2001). The value of export of
local seafood products was only B$ 1.63 million in 2001 whilst the
imported figures were at a staggering B$ 73.6 million for the same year.
The fish from the
capture fisheries and the aquaculture industries are either sold directly
at the wet markets, exported or being utilized for the processing
industry. This is especially so for the unmarketable and low-value fish
from the capture fisheries industry where they are expected and utilized
for processing. They are unmarketable locally because of the high
preference of the consumers for higher grade / better quality fish in the
domestic market.
Thus some of these
unmarketable and under utilised fish resources are being used as raw
materials for the processing industry. Some of the processed seafood
products produced are such as fish balls, fish cakes, fish satays,
crackers, dried and salted fish, shrimp paste and fermented and marinated
fish. Others are used for fish feed in the aquaculture industry.
Fish
Processing Activities
Types
of Products
Processed
seafood products which are made traditionally include crackers (keropok),
dried and salted fish (ikan kering dan ikan masin), shrimp paste (belacan)
and marinated fish (liking). These products are made manually by
housewives or group of women operating from their homes. They are termed
as small-scale producers.
With
the introduction of machineries and semi-automation, the number and extent
of producers also increase. Some are now moving away from homes and
operating in factories and employing specialized workers. However, the
small cottage industry still survives today though mainly catering for
their loyal customers and producing traditional products.
The
big-scale producers are producing larger volumes and different products.
The types of seafood products being produced by these entrepreneurs
include frozen fish / shrimps, prepared / chilled products, comminuted
products such fish cake, fish ball, fish burger and fish nugget, crackers
and smoked fish. These entrepreneurs are termed as commercial producers or
operators.
Made in Brunei
Keropok, a popular snack
Fish
Processors
The modus
operandi of the processors varies depending on the scale of their
production. The family-based processors operate from home whilst the big
scale processors operate from converted shop houses and a designated or
purpose-built processing plant (commercial industry).
Though
the processors are at the moment not registered with the Department of
Fisheries, their activities are, nevertheless, monitored especially the
commercial operators. Technical advices through visitations and
discussions and trainings are given to them so that they can progress
without much problem.
The
number of processors according to the type of activities they are involved
in is shown in Table 1. Commercial operators are currently involved in the
frozen fish / shrimps processing industry where the activities may include
the removal of head and shells of shrimps (head off and shell off).
Another processor is also on the verge of starting their shrimp processing
activities catering for the export markets. There are four companies
involved in the processing of comminuted products and six in the crackers
production. These are all commercial operators.
| Activities |
No.
of Processors |
Type
of Industry |
| Frozen fish /
shrimp |
1 |
Commercial |
| Prepared /
chilled |
1 |
Commercial |
| Smoked fish |
1 |
Commercial |
| Comminuted |
4 |
Commercial |
| 1 |
Small-scale |
| Crackers |
6 |
Commercial |
| 6 |
Small-scale |
| Dried / salted
fish |
13 |
Small-scale |
| Fermented |
19 |
Small-scale |
| Marinated |
16 |
Small-scale |
| Barbecued |
8 |
Small-scale |
Table
1 : Number of producers based on the activities involved (Source :
Department of Fisheries (DOF)).
Marinated
products produced by local processors
Production
Data
For the past five
years, the production figures for the processed seafood products are as in
Table 2 and Figure 1.
| Product
/ Year |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
| Frozen
fish / shrimp |
13.5 |
19.2 |
103.8 |
71.3 |
38.3 |
| Prepared
/ chilled |
10.1 |
8.6 |
11.2 |
6.9 |
4.2 |
| Comminuted
products |
117.0 |
106.5 |
112.2 |
133.0 |
124.6 |
| Crackers |
8.8 |
20.5 |
22.3 |
34.0 |
51.9 |
| Dried
/ salted |
2.1 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
1.6 |
0.4 |
| Fermented
/ marinated |
12.5 |
4.6 |
7.2 |
10.1 |
5.0 |
| Smoked
/ barbecued |
49.0 |
35.5 |
59.7 |
61.4 |
48.7 |
|
Total |
213.0 |
196.6 |
317.8 |
318.3 |
273.1 |
Table 2 : Seafood
processing industry production from 1997 to 2001 (Source : DOF).
Figure 1 : Seafood
processing industry production from 1997 to 2001 (Source : DOF).
Correspondingly the
value of the industry for the year 2001 is B$ 2.5 million. It has only
achieved approximately 15 % of the value of the industry estimated at B$
17 million.
The productions dropped
in the year 2001 due to the slow turnover of their products in the market.
Most processors will only produce according to the market demands. Some
will even stop production altogether due to slow sale and huge stocks.
Raw
Materials
The raw materials for
the fish processing industry come from both local supplies and
neighbouring countries. The local capture fisheries industry produced
about 10,343 m.t. in 2001 and of this about 3,500 m.t. is from the
commercial operators. And about nearly seventy percent of the catch from
the commercial operators are thrown back or discarded to the sea due to
their unmarketability and smaller sizes. Such species which are
non-marketable include ponyfish (leiognathus sp), goatfish (upeneus
sulphureus), threadfin bream (polynemus erumei), croaker (sciaena
sp), etc. Due to their unmarketability, some of these fish species are
also being utilized by the processors as raw materials for their industry.
Fish burger, fish nuggets and fish balls are some of the examples of
finished products utilizing those species.
With the growth of the
local aquaculture industry, there is a demand for the supply of fish feed
for the fish culture industry. Some of the unmarketable fish species are
taken up by the fish cage operators to be used as feed for the cultured
fish. Basic processing such as removing the fish bones and mincing the
fish meat is done by them to produce the feed. This simple activity has
the potential of becoming an industry in supplying fish feeds.
Markets
The marketing of
processed seafood products changes over time. Seafood products produced by
the backyard industry were traditionally sold by the padian from a
boat or at the dry market. Some were sold through direct selling from
homes or through relatives and friends. The operating costs for this type
of marketing strategy was very minimal. The volume of products marketed
was also relatively small.
Nowadays, seafood
products are easily and widely available from supermarkets and retail
outlets. Wide variety and selections of products are being sold.
However, due to the
small population size of Brunei Darussalam, the market outlets for locally
produced products are also comparatively small and limited. Thus, the
local processors sometimes find it too competitive to sell their produce
locally. This is notwithstanding the availability of similar imported
products from neighbouring countries. Thus it is the intention of the
Department of Fisheries to promote the local fish processors to be more
competitive and capture a slice of the lucrative international markets. A
few distributors have been identified to take up the challenge in trade
globalisation, whereby creating niche market has become their top
priority. This is especially so in the niche 'halal' market which is worth
US$ 50 billion per year internationally.
Locally-produced
comminuted products
Quality
Control and Food Safety
With
the advent of technology, globalisation, sophistication and consumer
awareness, foods for human consumption are being produced in a cleaner
environment using prescribed hygiene-controlled management system. This is
especially so for food products which are meant for export.
Though,
only few commercial seafood processors from Brunei Darussalam has
experienced in exporting its processed seafood products overseas, their
experience has shown that to sustain and be competitive in the business,
they have to have quality control systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Point (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in place in
their operational management strategy. Along the same endeavor, the
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources is cooperating with SIRIM Sdn.
Bhd. of Malaysia to certify a number of products meant for export being
produced by the local operators. By having this joint collaboration, the
products will have to meet the stringent quality and standards as
prescribed by SIRIM Sdn. Bhd. in order for the products to be certified.
These products will then be acceptable and had met the standards of
importing countries which recognized SIRIM Sdn. Bhd.
Other
commercial operators are also pursuing for their factories to be at least
having a management system along the line of GMP or HACCP.
The
small scale operators, nevertheless, are also being advised constantly to
produce quality and safe products.
To
support for the production of a quality produce from the local producers,
the Department of Fisheries has amended its Fisheries Act (Chapter 61), to
include the Fish Processing Establishments (Fisheries Regulations), 2002.
Under the regulations, all fish processing establishments will be licensed
under the Department. Among the conditions for the issuance of licenses
are to comply with the national food standards and meeting the quality
assurance programme of the department.
The
Government of His Majesty the Sultan through the Ministry of Health has
enacted the Food Safety Act which is primarily to safeguard the public
against the consumption of unsafe food products. At the same time, it also
creates among the producers and food handlers to be more responsible in
ensuring the food being prepared are safe for consumptions.
Potential
As
mentioned earlier, with a small local population, domestic market will
play a major factor for producers in expanding their production capacity.
However, the potentials for export and trade globalisation provide huge
prospectives for market expansion. Local producers should act fast to
carve a piece of the global market. If their production capacity is not
sufficient, by virtue of forming a consortium of similar producers may
create enough volume to satisfy the demand of importing countries.
With
technical assistance from the Department of Fisheries and financial
assistance from the Bank through the Skim Kemudahan Perusahaan and Skim
Mikrokredit, and producers commitment, having marketing problems will
be a thing of the past.
Seafood
processors are actively encouraged to expand their activities and go on to
a commercial scale especially eyeing the overseas markets. Currently, one
seafood processors has been encouraged to become an export-oriented
company by the Department of Fisheries. The company, Syarikat Seri Pekatan
Sdn. Bhd., is involved in producing prawn crackers to be available outside
Brunei Darussalam. In anticipation of this venture, the company is
building a dedicated prawn cracker factory with a total plant capacity of
6 metric tonnes per month. Technical dan assistances are extended from
both the government and bank, respectively.
Two
shrimp processors, having 27 m.t. and 10 m.t. per month of plant capacity
respectively, are also involved in the export market from their dedicated
shrimp processing plants. These are Semaun Seafoods Sdn. Bhd. and Tuah
Maju Multifoods Sdn. Bhd. The former has already experienced in exporting
processed frozen shrimps to the United States and Japan. The later will be
fully operational in the new year 2003. However, it has already made some
progress in securing markets from Japan. The shrimps being processed are
obtained from the locally cultured rostris shrimps (Litopenaeus
stylirostris) and tiger shrimps (Penaeus monodon).
Beside
the above activities, there are also other activities which have
potentials for entrepreneurs to go into. Such activities include
production of crackers (both raw and cooked), comminuted products,
fermented fish, cannery and so forth. Facilities such as land and finances
are available from the Government Sites which are available include in
areas like industrial sites in Serasa, Muara and Lambak Kanan. Those
interested can meet officers from the Department of Fisheries to discuss
business plans and opportunities.
Conclusions
Brunei
Darussalam has still a lot to offer in its promoting and developing the
seafood processing industry. The current value of the industry is still
way below the B$ 17 million target. Thus a potential for entrepreneurs to
get involved into the seafood processing industry is still wide open
especially in utilizing the unmarketable and underutilized fish species.
Note :
DOF, 2002. Program and Focus 2001 - 2005 : 2001 End of Year Review.
Department of FIsheries (Unpublished).
JPKE, 2001. Eighth National Development Plan 2001 - 2005. Department of
Economic Planning and Development. 248 pp.
