Jakarta. The United States sent back the Indonesian shrimp that it had imported worth totaling $1.26 million in September, according to the central statistics agency or BPS, amidst a radiation scare.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not long ago detected Cs-137 contamination in Indonesian shrimp, and this discovery has spoiled Washington’s appetite for the seafood. Pudji Ismartini, a senior official at BPS, revealed that the US had returned its Indonesian shrimp imports following the incident.

“In September 2025 alone, the US sent back 152.32 million tons of Indonesian shrimp. These were worth $1.26 million," Pudji told a press briefing in Jakarta on Monday. 

According to Pudji, Indonesia recorded around 240.54 tons of shrimp reimportation that month, although BPS did not say the other buyers that were also sending back the product. These returned shrimps totaled $2.09 million in value.

The US FDA has required Indonesia to provide assurances that their shrimp, particularly from the Java Island and Lampung, are radiation-free, effective on Oct. 31. The agency has flagged these regions to be at risk for Cs-137 contamination.

The Fishery Ministry has begun certifying the shrimps that would get sent to the US, the first batch of the certified seafood already made their way to New York and Los Angeles a few days ago. Fishery Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono recently told reporters that the radiation crisis would not sour ongoing tariff talks with the White House, saying that they were two separate matters.

The US FDA has placed a ban on the Banten-based shrimp producer Bahari Makmur Sejati, but only plans to lift the restriction if the latter resolves the problem.

The agency announced the possible radiation contamination back in early August, meaning that the radiation scare was still somewhat fresh amidst the massive reimportation taking place the following month.

BPS data showed that Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports to the US totalled $23.03 billion between January and September, about 18.45 percent were electrical machinery and equipment. 

“Our non-oil and gas exports to the US amounted to $2.43 billion in September, down 10.72 percent month-on-month,” Pudji said.

The Health Ministry reported that short-term exposure to Cs-137 could cause diarrhea and headaches, among others. High-intensity exposure could lead to severe infection, organ failure, and even death. 

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