Netherlands helps to make fish processing industry more export oriented
View(s):Sri Lanka’s fish processing industry is to be made more export oriented with effective and efficient value addition with the assistance of the Netherlands expertise.
The Ministry of Primary Industries has sought the assistance of PUM Netherlands senior experts, a non-profit organisation, to take the process of fish product value addition to the next level for the export market, PUM local representative S.P.C. Kumarasinghe told the Business Times.
Secretary to the Ministry of Primary Industries Bandula Wickramarachchi discussing with the PUM sector Advisor of Fisheries Arie Bondt and project staff.
The PUM has been advising businesses in developing countries and emerging markets for more than 35 years, he said adding that it also promotes entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency and the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises locally.
This non profit organisation of the Netherlands is providing technical assistance to local fish processing companies to gain better profit margins with high value addition, he said.
These processed fish products could be sold in the foreign market further up in the value chain, Mr. Kumarasinghe said adding that these additional profits would have otherwise gone to middle men in the value chain.
Mr. Kumarasinghe mentioned that they were able to provide more assistance to both the fisheries and agricultural sectors once requested.
This will be a major step towards achieving the overall target set by the present Government to double the export earnings in Sri Lanka by 2020.
In the fisheries sector the Ministry of Primary Industries will focus on farming and processing of Sea Cucumber, developing Prawn Hatcheries and Oyster Farming and fish processing.
PUM experts Arie de Bondt, Jan van Dijk, John Limmen and Andries Kamstra have already inspected fisheries sector industries in Sri Lanka to provide their expertise with aim of making it more export oriented.
(Bandula)