Starting in 2023, for the first time, live grouper fish from West Sumatra were exported as much as 1.5 tons to Malaysia as the destination country.

Grouper fish packed in a city made of solid styrofoam, sent to Malaysia by airplane with a selling price of IDR 170,000 per kilogram.

This export is a generator for grouper cultivators in West Sumatra because, in 2022, grouper fish exports cannot be carried out.

This is because the condition of one of the export destination countries, namely Hong Kong, is not conducive, so the export process cannot be carried out.

even though in 2021, local authorities recorded as many as 40 thousand grouper sent to the country with an export value of up to IDR 10 billion.
The beautiful grouper is one of the most widely cultivated grouper fish in the Mandeh area, Pesisir Selatan Regency.

Using the floating net cage method, each cage will be filled with fish of different sizes, from juveniles to adult groupers ready for harvest.

Each cage box can contain 150–200 kilograms of fish. Fish are raised from fry measuring 3 to 12 centimeters for four months. After that, the fish seeds are ready to be raised.

Until now, the marketing of grouper fish in West Sumatra still relies heavily on the arrival of ships from Hong Kong, which come to pick up cultivated fish once every 1-2 years, namely in October or November, depending on the availability of groupers in West Sumatra.

For one arrival, Hong Kong ships can carry a maximum of 25 tons of grouper. However, cultivators in West Sumatra can only provide less than 20 tons of grouper.

Farmers sell the beautiful grouper and cantang grouper for $10, or IDR 140,000 per kilogram. Grouper cultivators in West Sumatra are still exporting to Hong Kong because the selling price in the country is still very low, around IDR 50–60 thousand per kilogram.

Abdur Rohman, Head of Fish Quarantine Station and Quality Control and Safety of Padang Fishery Products, stated

"For the potential of this almost decent grouper, the future target is approximately 8 tons, which will be realized for export throughout 2023." Yes, hopefully in the future there will be more business actors exporting through the Minangkabau international airport.