TAFICO to increase sea fish exports by 30pc

TANZANIA Fishing Corporation (TAFICO) plans to increase sea fish export by 30 per cent in five years from currently 30,000 tonnes annually.

The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Permanent Secretary, Prof Riziki Shemdoe told ‘Daily News’ on Thursday that the initiave comes after securing 2.6bn/- from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“With the funds, TAFICO will acquire a new 22-metre long fishing vessel with a capacity of 90 tonnes for deep sea fishing,” he said.

He said the funds will also be used for the construction of cold storage warehouse and purchase of refrigerated vehicle.

He said TAFICO in its 10-year plan has various projects to be implemented in phases that will boost GDP and create about 20,000 jobs.

Prof Shemdoe said also that the government has set aside 3.4bn/- in the 2023/24 financial year to revive TAFICO and boost its contribution to economic growth.

He said TAFICO will engage in buying fish from small scale fisheries, add value and sell them to local and foreign markets.

Further, in efforts to address post-harvest losses, TAFICO will establish sardine and small pelagic fish processing project to dry about 80 to 100 tonnes of sardines per month.

Statistics show that there has been up to 40 per cent post-harvest losses of fish during huge harvest.

He said the government future plan is to promote the development of the fishing industry and ensure fishing operations extend to the Tanzanian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and beyond in order to capitalise on the richness of the deep-sea fishery.

Prof Shemdoe said the government is determined to invest more in order to benefits from deep sea fishing.