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Ghana to process tuna in large quantities - Mrs Asmah
Tema, Feb 26, Ghanadot/GNA - Mrs Gladys Asmah,
Minister for Fisheries, has said Ghana would, from the
middle of this year, harvest and process tuna in large
quantities for export to European markets under the Phenegan
Project.
The Phenegan Project is a private Partnership Programme
between Ghanaian offshore canoe operators, Dutch and
Philippians vessel operators to harvest tuna from Ghana to
be processed by fishing companies in the country before
exporting to the European markets.
Mrs Asmah, who said this on Monday when she visited three
fish processing companies in Tema and Prampram to assess
their activities and readiness for the take off of the
project, said the Netherlands government had given a one
million euro grant for the start of the project.
The companies she toured were Divine Seafoods Limited, Ghana
Protein and West Africa Fishery.
She said the current practice of exporting most of the
country’s fresh tuna would change with the start of the
project as it aimed at adding value to the fish.
The project would also facilitate an increase over the
country’s 50,000 tonnes of canned tuna and 70,000 metric
tonnes fish in its raw state exported last year.
Mr Isaac Appiah, General Manager of Ghana Seafood Management
Limited (Managers of Divine Seafoods Limited) said the
company started processing fish for the local market two
years ago after a break in operation for nine years.
Mr Appiah said the company deals in fish fillets, prawns,
tuna and lobsters and that the major challenge of the
company was lack of tuna in the lean season.
Mr Bernard Marroncles, External Auditor of Ghana Protein,
said the company that had been in operation for the past two
years processes tuna scraps bought from Pioneer Food Cannery
into fish meal.
Mr Marroncles said because the company was not exporting its
produce, it processes 150 metric tonnes of fish meal daily
for the local market instead of the 300 metric tonnes
capacity.
He said the company also extracts fish oil from the process
but said currently it is not on commercial basis.
Mr Lopez Soto, Chief Executive Officer of West Africa
Fishery, told the Minister that the company produces 30
tonnes of fresh fish daily for export to Europe.
Mr Soto said the company exported 500 metric tonnes of
octopus and tuna last year.
GNA
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