Indonesia ends Cs-137 emergency phase, tightens controls on shrimp exports to US as new normal
The Indonesian government has announced the end of the emergency response phase triggered by Cs-137 contamination at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Banten Province, but is retaining batch-by-batch testing, traceability and certification requirements for shrimp exports to the US; from October 2025 to September 2026, a total of 6,291 containers and 95,438 tonnes of shrimp products were certified, with an export value of about US$933 million.
Jakarta news: The Indonesian government has officially announced the end of the emergency response phase for the caesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination incident at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Banten Province. However, Indonesia has also made clear that the lifting of the technical state of emergency does not mean that the special testing, traceability and certification mechanism established for shrimp exports to the US market will be terminated along with it.
Official data compiled by Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) show that between October 2025 and September 2026, the competent authorities inspected and certified 6,291 containers of shrimp products as free of caesium-137, totalling 95,438 tonnes, with an export value of about US$933 million. The Indonesian authorities confirmed that goods bearing the above-mentioned sanitary and radiological test certificates showed no border rejection records related to this monitoring mechanism upon entry into the United States.
The core of this regulatory framework is the "Shipment-Specific Certificates" (SSC) issued batch by batch. Each consignment of shrimp must undergo mandatory radionuclide testing before the certificate can be obtained. Indonesia's Fish Quarantine and Quality Supervision Agency (BPPMHKP) is the designated certification body and has been officially recognised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The end of the emergency phase has not led to the withdrawal of the monitoring system. The technical regulations applicable to all processing plants in Java and Lampung Province remain fully in force, and shrimp products must be proven free of caesium-137 before they can enter the US market. Indonesia is moving from unconventional crisis management to incorporating radiological testing into its permanent food safety and export infrastructure.
This regulatory evolution is supported by direct state investment in domestic testing capacity. In 2026, Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries opened a laboratory dedicated to testing fish and fishery products for radioactive contamination; the laboratory is accredited to the ISO 17025 international standard and is qualified for quantitative radionuclide screening, with caesium-137 as the key testing target. Building domestic testing capacity reduces reliance on overseas laboratory networks and allows radiological clearance to be incorporated into the standard export verification process.
On the bilateral regulatory front, in May 2026 a US FDA technical delegation conducted an on-site audit in Indonesia, inspecting certification bodies, cold stores, processing plants and testing laboratories. Following the assessment, the US side reaffirmed the official status of BPPMHKP and Indonesia's Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) as qualified certification bodies.
After the emergency phase, Indonesia has developed a stricter monitoring structure: batch-by-batch laboratory verification, digitally integrated export files, and ongoing bilateral cooperation with US regulators.
Separately, according to the August 2026 import and export statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, that month's imports of warm-water shrimp from Indonesia (penaeid shrimp, including whiteleg shrimp and black tiger shrimp, under customs commodity classification HS 0306.17) amounted to 1,574.67 tonnes, with an import value of US$8,674,955.0 and an average price of US$5,509.06 per tonne; under the same statistical basis, another record shows an import value of US$8,396,457.0 and an average price of US$5,495.34 per tonne, and the two sets of figures are inconsistent.