TIL Desk/Business/Kochi/ Union Commerce& Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has urged Kerala to host an international summit on fishing for the crucial sector to make a steady development in the coastal state. “The Centre will provide all the support needed for such a summit that can feature exports to countries like Korea and Japan that are major consumers of Indian seafood.
Value added products will play an increasingly decisive role in the growth of the fishing sector. “India is aiming at a 60-million-dollar turnover of agricultural exports in the next five years. The fish farmers should eye the international market and fulfill international business parameters,” he said, while inaugurating a pioneering multi-species aquaculture complex built by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) at Vallarpadam island near here.
Spread over nine acres, the Rs 7.26 crore state-of-the-art unit facilitates production of marine food from disease-free breeds, featuring a hatchery for black tiger shrimps and six nurseries. The project will cater to the demand from aquaculture farmers in Kerala as well as the neighbouring states.
