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Tuna fishing is the next significant leap forward in the aqua sector and it is bound to happen in a few years, according to Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman A Jayathilak.
He was addressing the media here on Thursday on the eve of the three-day India International Seafood Show, set to begin here on Friday. He said MPEDA was subsidising the modification of some of the existing fishing boats and trawlers to go into the deep sea for tuna fishing. “But it will take some more time for us to take up tuna fishing and processing in a big way. We can get the best returns only if we export processed sashimi grade tuna fish,” he said.
The IISS had attracted as many as 27 foreign companies, including firms from the USA, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, the UK, Finland, Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Thailand,” said Jayathilak. “They are setting up stalls in the exhibition to display their products. We expect over 2,000 delegates, more than 200 of them from abroad.”
In response to a question on FDI, Jayathilak said that right now there was not much flow of FDI into the aqua sector “except for a few companies such as the CP group, which has entered into the feed manufacturing segment. But with the relaxation of rules in future there may be greater flow, which is quite welcome. Foreign companies should also bring in their technologies.”
Elais Sait, Secretary-General of the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India, said foreign companies could also set up brood multiplication centres in the country. “The Andhra Pradesh government has given permission to three companies from abroad, including the CP group, to set up vannamei shrimp brood multiplication centres. Brood stock is now being imported from Hawaii,” he said.
V Padmanabham, President of the Seafood Exporters’ Association, said Andhra Pradesh would continue to be the leader in the sector as India aimed for an export turnover of $10 billion by 2020 from $5 billion now.
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