Seafood
Indonesian octopus
Indonesian octopus is wild-caught, mostly by small boats using pots and hand lines across a very large number of small landing sites. It ships frozen, whole cleaned or cut. For Europe the deciding question is not the product at all, it is whether the catch can be traced back to a vessel.
How it leaves the country.
- Whole cleaned
- Gutted, beak and eyes removed, sold by size code. The base product and the one most buyers start with.
- Flower cut
- Blanched so the tentacles open, then frozen. A presentation product, priced on how it looks after thawing.
- Tentacles and cuts
- Separated legs and portions for foodservice. Higher labour, higher price, and a different yield conversation.
How it is graded.
Octopus is bought by size code, and the codes are a commercial convention rather than a standard. Write the weight band out in the contract instead of relying on the letter.
- Size codes
- T-grades run from small to large and the boundaries differ between markets and buyers. Two suppliers quoting the same code can mean different animals.
- What to specify
- Species, presentation, size code with the weight band written out, glazing percentage, freezing method, and the microbiological standard of your market.
- The plant's system
- HACCP running at the approved establishment is what the export health certificate rests on.1
How it is packed.
- Cold chain
- Frozen and held at a temperature named in the contract. Texture is where a broken chain shows up, and it shows up on the plate rather than in the paperwork.
- Glazing
- The ice layer is part of the shipped weight. Agree the percentage in writing and check it on arrival, because it is the easiest place for value to leak.
Where it grows.
East Java and Madura
Java
Dense small-boat fishing with processing capacity close to Surabaya.
South Sulawesi
Sulawesi
A large fishing ground with an established collection network feeding Makassar.
East Nusa Tenggara
Nusa Tenggara
Island fishing across a wide area, and the hardest origin to trace back to individual vessels.
Maluku
Maluku
Clean grounds and good product, with logistics that add cost and time.
Origins with a protected name.
Names the trade contracts on, most of them on the Indonesian register of geographical indications.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Catch certificate
- For the EU. Octopus is wild-caught, so the flag state has to validate the catch. Thousands of small landings make this the requirement that decides whether a supplier can serve Europe.2
- Approved establishment number
- The processing plant has to already appear on the EU approved list before your order exists.1
- Export health certificate
- Issued by the Indonesian competent authority against the public health requirements of the destination.1
- Certificate of analysis
- Microbiological results on the shipped lot, against the standard your market applies.
Questions buyers ask.
Why is traceability hard on octopus?
Because the fishery is thousands of small boats landing at hundreds of small sites. Each hop from boat to collector to processor is a place the link to a vessel can be lost, and a European catch certificate needs that link intact.
What does a T-grade actually mean?
Whatever the two of you agree it means. It is a commercial convention with no published standard, so write the weight band into the contract. Ordering by letter alone is how buyers end up with an average animal size they did not expect.
Whole cleaned or flower cut?
Flower cut costs more and arrives ready to present, which suits foodservice. Whole cleaned is cheaper and leaves the work with you. The yield difference between them is worth calculating before comparing the two prices.
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
- 1Entering the European market for fresh tuna. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. EUR-Lex. Checked 3 August 2026.