Seafood
Indonesian lobster
Indonesia lands spiny lobster across its reef systems and ships it live, whole frozen and as tails. Export of juveniles, the seed used to stock farms elsewhere, has been regulated and restricted, and the position has changed more than once. That is the first thing to confirm on any lobster enquiry.
How it leaves the country.
- Live
- The highest value route and the hardest. Survival through handling, holding and flight is what the price pays for.
- Whole frozen
- Cooked or raw, graded by weight. A different supply chain and a different buyer.
- Tails
- Frozen and graded by weight band. The most portable form and the easiest to specify.
How it is graded.
Lobster is contracted on species, presentation and size band. Before any of that, establish that the material and the form you want may lawfully leave.
- Check the rules first
- Indonesian regulation on lobster, and on juvenile export in particular, has been revised repeatedly. Confirm the current position for the form you want before contracting.
- Species matters
- Several spiny lobster species are landed and they price differently. Name the scientific species rather than the trade name.
- What to specify
- Species, presentation, size band written out, live or frozen, and the microbiological standard of your market.
How it is packed.
- Live handling
- Chilled, packed in shavings and flown. Every hour and every transfer costs survival, so routing is part of the specification.
- Frozen
- Held at a temperature named in the contract, with glazing agreed in writing as part of the price.
Where it grows.
East Nusa Tenggara
Nusa Tenggara
Reef fishing across many small islands, with collection through local networks.
West Nusa Tenggara
Nusa Tenggara
A second base, closer to the Bali airfreight routes.
South Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Landing and holding facilities feeding both live and frozen trades.
Choosing between this and something else.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Export permit check
- Confirm that the species and the form you want may be exported. This is regulated and the scope has been revised.
- Catch certificate
- For the EU. Wild-caught, so the flag state has to validate the catch.1
- Export health certificate
- Issued by the Indonesian competent authority against the destination's public health requirements.2
- Approved establishment number
- For the EU, the processing plant has to already appear on the approved list.2
Questions buyers ask.
Can I buy lobster seed from Indonesia?
That is exactly the question to establish before anything else, because juvenile export has been restricted and the rules have moved. Treat any supplier who answers casually as a supplier who has not checked.
Live or frozen?
Live pays far more and fails far more often. It needs a short routing, experienced handling and a buyer who can absorb mortality. Frozen is the sensible first order with a new supplier.
How do I judge a live supplier?
By their holding facility and their routing, not by their price. Ask how long the animals are held, how they are conditioned before flight, and what their mortality has been on the last shipments to your airport.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. EUR-Lex. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Entering the European market for fresh tuna. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.