Market structure of abalone (Haliotis asinina) in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abalone is one type of shellfish that has high economic value. This study aimed to assess market structure of abalone. The study was carried out in Bajo Bahari Village in Buton District, and Bau-Bau Municipality. Respondents consisted of 30 abalone catchers in the village, and three village abalone collectors (VACs) and two inter-island abalone traders (IATs) selected using snowball sampling method. Data were collected first in February 2015 and in May 2020 during Covid-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed qualitatively. Market structure was identified through assessment of the nature of competition based on the number of buyers and sellers, product differentiation, and entry and exit barriers. Study results showed that market structure exhibits oligopsony, in which the number of producers are more than that of village collectors, product differentiation is absent, and there exist some barriers to entry for village collectors. During Covid-19 pandemic, fishermen stop catching wild abalone, so there are still no more products to be marketed.

An Overview of the Indonesian Abalone Industry: Production, Market, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…Abalone has been traditionally harvested from wild populations along the Indonesian coast and has been an important source of food and income for coastal communities [14]. However, overfishing and the depletion of wild abalone stocks have led to a decline in the industry in recent decades [4], [14]- [16].…”

“…However, it's important to note that Indonesia currently does not rank among the top ten abalone exporting countries, as indicated in Table 1 [47]. While abalone prices in Indonesia typically range from USD 22 to USD 26 per kilogram [7], the production supply falls short of meeting the demand by a substantial 40% [14]. The domestic market in Indonesia predominantly consumes locally produced abalone [16], [48].…”

Pengaruh Penggunaan Pakan Buatan Berbahan Baku Tepung Makroalga Hijau Ulva sp. Terhadap Pertumbuhan Yuwana Abalon Haliotis squamata

“…Pada tahun 2020, Indonesia telah mengekspor abalon sebanyak 262.362 kg dengan nilai 4,8 juta USD (KKP, 2021). Produksi abalon di Indonesia sebagian besar merupakan hasil kegiatan penangkapan dari alam (Taridala et al, 2021). Secara global, total produksi abalon pada tahun 2017 mencapai 174.162 ton atau meningkat 34,7% dari total produksi abalon pada tahun 2015.…”

Export Performance and Competitiveness Analysis of Indonesian Crab Products in the ASEAN Market

“…In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were disruptions in the crab supply chain in several locations in Indonesia. Local collectors do not accommodate fishermen's catches, and exporters do not provide local collectors, so the crab supply chain is currently working to form a network independently (Salam et al, 2021).…”