Fish production increase helps boost development - Minister Senaratne

Ridma Dissanayake

The country spends around Rs. 10,300 million annually to import canned fish, dried fish and Maldive fish. Manufacturing fish productions in the country will help save a huge amount of money. It will be a great support for the country's development programmes, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne said.

Sri Lankans uses around 124,000 fish tins per day. The government spends Rs.4,085.05 million per year to import canned fish. The government spent Rs.5,117.90 million to import dried fish and Rs.1076.20 to import Maldive fish last year, he said.

Addressing a meeting at the Fisheries Ministry recently, the minister said that another two new canned fish factories will be established in the Western and Southern Provinces.

One will be set up at Peliyagoda. The minister said that these factories will meet the total canned fish requirement in the country.

“A pilot project of dried fish and Maldive fish production has commenced in several parts of the country. The government is to spend large sums of money for these industries. We have introduced several loan schemes for the fisheries community to uplift their livelihoods. “More facilities will be provided for them to start dried fish and Maldive fish industries as self employment initiatives,” Minister Senaratne said. The Fisheries Ministry will expand the market for these productions, the minister said.