Changes in The Ratio of Seed Price to Production Cost of Siamese Pangasius in Indonesia

Abstract

Seed is an initial input that determines working-capital requirements and the continuity of striped catfish production cycles. An increase in farm-gate fish prices does not necessarily strengthen farmers’ capacity to restart production when seed prices rise faster. This study examines changes in the seed-to-farm-gate price ratio of striped catfish in Indonesia during 2024–2025. The analysis uses final research data on farm-gate prices and seed prices for the 7–9 cm and 10–12 cm size categories. The indicators include price growth, the seed-to-output price ratio, the number of seeds equivalent to the value of one kilogram of fish, and the fish-output value required to purchase 10,000 seeds. Farm-gate prices increased by 4.5%, from IDR16,500/kg to IDR17,250/kg. During the same period, the price of 7–9 cm seeds increased by 14.3%, from IDR350 to IDR400 per seed, while the price of 10–12 cm seeds increased by 9.5%, from IDR475 to IDR520. The relative price ratio increased by 9.3% for 7–9 cm seeds and by 4.7% for 10–12 cm seeds. The value of one kilogram of fish could purchase 47.1 small seeds in 2024 but only 43.1 in 2025. For 10–12 cm seeds, the purchasing capacity declined from 34.7 to 33.2 seeds. The fish-output equivalent required to purchase 10,000 seeds increased from 212.1 kg to 231.9 kg for the smaller size and from 287.9 kg to 301.4 kg for the larger size. The results indicate that farm-gate price growth did not fully offset the increase in seed prices, particularly for the 7–9 cm category. This ratio does not measure total profitability or technical efficiency.