US$1.2 billion investment planned by a business group from Mauritius in Mozambican aquaculture

Maputo, Mozambique, 3 Nov – A business group from Mauritius has announced plans to invest US$1.2 billion in Mozambican aquafarming to produce 60,000 tonnes of fish in two Maputo province districts, reports the Maputo-based daily Noticias. Photo from http://ambhanoi.um.dk/

Citing Mozambican Fisheries Minister Victor Borges, the newspaper states that the country has the potential to produce 2 million tonnes of various kinds of fish using aquaculture processes, though current production is no more than a thousand tonnes, or 0.05 percent.

During a Mozambican government seminar to present the country’s potentials in the sector, Mauritius’s Fisheries Minister, Von-Mally Joseph, said his country aimed to make use of the investment incentives Mozambique was offering.

Borges acknowledged that national fishing production “is below its potential” in Mozambique, since the country only produces 150,000 tonnes per year, about 45 percent of what it is possible to produce.

The Mozambican government is undertaking a number of actions to increase production, specifically meant to attract more investment with a view to reaching other markets and not just the European Union, currently the main destination of national fish exports.

The fishery sector currently accounts for 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 4 percent of its overall exports. Fish is the fifth most commercialised product abroad.

The government recently approved the Fisheries Master Plan for 2010-2019, whose immediate aim is to enhance the sector’s contribution towards improving the population’s food and nutritional security.

The plan also aims to improve the quality of life of artisanal fishermen and small-scale fish farmers, besides increasing the sector’s contribution to the country’s economic and social development and a better balance of payments. (macauhub)
 

Source: Agritrade Fisheries News Alert - 17 November 2010

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