Africa-Press – Tanzania. BUSINESS fortune awaits sardine dealers as the Zanzibar Fisheries Company Limited’s (ZAFICO) embarks on implementing project, worth 5.3bn/-, to improve environment for business operations that would guarantee reliable markets for the marine products within and outside the country.
ZAFICO Managing Director Dr Ameir Haidari Mshenga told the ‘Daily News’ here over the weekend that the firm has secured 10 hectares of land for the project at Kama area on the outskirts of the city.
He said ZAFICO has already contracted Karume Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) experts to design and construct the modern racks for hygienic sardine drying.
After Kama project, which envisages accommodating between 8,000 and 10,000 entrepreneurs from the current 400 using the area, ZAFICO will focus on other landing sites in Unguja and Pemba.
“Besides the racks, which will facilitate neatly drying of sardines for the export markets, the project entails improvement of operational environment,” the newly appointed chief executive officer said in an interview.
He said he has already conducted market surveys in Kigoma, Mwanza and Chato where he met hundreds of sardine buyers eager to buy whatever amount of sardines from Zanzibar.
“There is huge demand for Zanzibar sardines in DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and even in Mwanza,” he said.
Dr Mshenga said after empowering the sardine driers, ZAFICO will start buying their products for the export markets at competitive prices, “We have huge markets that span up to the United States of America; and we will definitely offer good prices.”
Zanzibar sardines sale at between 3,000/- and 4,500/- per kilogramme, the price that compares unfavourably to Kigoma’s, which according to Dr Mshenga fetch up to 18,000/- per kilogramme in the DR Congo market.
“The most serious problem in Zanzibar will soon shift from poor prices and lack of reliable markets to acute shortage of the produce,” argued Dr Mshenga, noting that ZAFICO is currently under consultation with Zanzibar Fisheries Research Institute (ZAFIRI) to explore the possibility of fishing sardines in deep sea.
Poor fishing technologies, low prices and unreliable markets and storage facilities were the key challenges haunting the dealers especially the artisanal fishermen that President Hussein Mwinyi pledged to address during his last year’s election campaigns.
Meanwhile, ZAFICO and Oman Investment Authority (OIA) have registered a fish farming company, which is expected to produce 6,000 tons of fish, annually.
Dr Mshenga said through the Zanzibar Aquiculture Company, over 10 million US dollars (over 23bn/-) will be invested in fish farming.
He said the project whose joint venture agreement has already been signed and certificate released by Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA) will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the islanders.
The project, which will be executed by the Norwegian contractors, will as well offer lucrative fish markets for the artisanal fishermen, Dr Mshenga said.
