Seafood industry needs technology infusion, market expansion: Industry Minister
Updated: Feb 28, 2014 04:47:31pm
New Delhi, Feb 28 (KNN) Citing that the country's sea food industry is in a critical condition, the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said the sector needs dramatic technology infusion, capacity building and market expansion.
“It needs much greater value addition for providing remunerative prices to our resource poor farmers. I would urge MPEDA to create innovative implementation models which would create necessary forward and backward linkages and create economies of scale,” he said during the inauguration of Nucleus Breeding Centre for Tiger Shrimp Project of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aqua Culture (RGCA) in Port Blair.
Applauding the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture as being front ranking scientific organization in this sector in the country, Sharma added that “they will shortly be granted four patents in adaptable aquaculture technology” for which they have applied.
The establishment of the project, according to the minister will have far reaching benefits for shrimp farmers and sea food exporters of the country.
“It is expected that within five years of the establishment of the project, tiger shrimp aquaculture in India would scale new heights to achieve additional production to the tune of 100000 MT and have export value of USD 1 billion,” he said.
“Last year, we exported shrimps worth over USD 1.8 billion. This is an area which has the potential of becoming a huge foreign exchange earner for our country,’ he added.
Sharma has also emphasised the need for producing disease free sea foods for promotion of health standard markets.
“There is no doubt that production of disease free varieties of Tiger prawns will assure market access to advanced markets which have much higher health standards. It will also catalyse the growth of ancillary industry in the entire value chain of sea food processing,” he said.
Sharma also laid the foundation stone for the multi-species Grouper Hatchery at Rangachang in Andaman and the Broodstock Multiplication Centre for Tiger Shrimp at Kanyakumari.
He said that production can be increased manifold and will facilitate export of this item in live condition which has the potential of enhancing the income by up to five-fold for the fishermen. (KNN/ST)
“It needs much greater value addition for providing remunerative prices to our resource poor farmers. I would urge MPEDA to create innovative implementation models which would create necessary forward and backward linkages and create economies of scale,” he said during the inauguration of Nucleus Breeding Centre for Tiger Shrimp Project of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aqua Culture (RGCA) in Port Blair.
Applauding the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture as being front ranking scientific organization in this sector in the country, Sharma added that “they will shortly be granted four patents in adaptable aquaculture technology” for which they have applied.
The establishment of the project, according to the minister will have far reaching benefits for shrimp farmers and sea food exporters of the country.
“It is expected that within five years of the establishment of the project, tiger shrimp aquaculture in India would scale new heights to achieve additional production to the tune of 100000 MT and have export value of USD 1 billion,” he said.
“Last year, we exported shrimps worth over USD 1.8 billion. This is an area which has the potential of becoming a huge foreign exchange earner for our country,’ he added.
Sharma has also emphasised the need for producing disease free sea foods for promotion of health standard markets.
“There is no doubt that production of disease free varieties of Tiger prawns will assure market access to advanced markets which have much higher health standards. It will also catalyse the growth of ancillary industry in the entire value chain of sea food processing,” he said.
Sharma also laid the foundation stone for the multi-species Grouper Hatchery at Rangachang in Andaman and the Broodstock Multiplication Centre for Tiger Shrimp at Kanyakumari.
He said that production can be increased manifold and will facilitate export of this item in live condition which has the potential of enhancing the income by up to five-fold for the fishermen. (KNN/ST)
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