Fisheries Corp to open first canned fish plant

Ridma Dissanayake

‘The first state owned canned fish factory which is to be maintained by the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation (CFC) in collaboration with a private company will open in the Galle district this year. The plant will manufacture around 15,000 tins of canned fish per day after its commissioning’, said Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.

‘The corporation will purchase 90 fishing vessels to increase the fish harvest and will also increase the number of CFC mobile vans to distribute fresh fish islandwide’, he added. The minister was addressing the opening ceremony of the 104th CFC fish stall established in Uragasmanhandiya in the Galle district, recently. The CFC has spent over Rs. 150,000 on each fish stall and they have already established 53 fish stalls within 18 months.

“The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry and the CFC aim to establish 250 CFC fish stalls countrywide by 2013 One hundred and four stalls have already been established in 21 districts. The CFC has provided over 530 jobs through the fish stall network” he said.

“The CFC has taken steps to directly purchase fish from fishermen and it will help fishermen to get a fare price for their fish harvest. Before these measures were taken, the CFC’s contribution in fish sales was only 9 percent.They hope to increase it to 10 percent by 2013. The fish sales income of the CFC have increased by 60 percent in comparison to 2009 and an income of Rs. 1,370m had been recorded at the end of September, 2011. They have sold over 3,570 metric tons of fish during the same period, he said.

“The Ceylon Fisheries Corporation which was a non-profitable venture is now progressing as a profitable institution reducing its losses to Rs 23 million last year. All measures are in place to develop the CFC as a profitable institution by the end of this year”, the minister said.

The CFC had spent around Rs. 120 million to pay ETF for their employees without any assistance from the Treasury. They have maintained all their expenses without getting any assistance even from the Fisheries Ministry, he further added.