Third canned fish factory to be opened

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The third largest canned fish factory in Sri Lanka "Tess Mekeral" will be opened tomorrow in Peliyagoda by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne.

"This canned fish factory has been established under the Tess Group of Companies. They have invested Rs.170 million on this canned fish factory. The factory has the ability to turn out 24,000 cans of fish during an eight hour shift and they aim to produce 48,000 tins of fish per day through two working shifts,"Tess Group of Company's Director Shiran Fernando said.

Minister Rajitha Senaratne has taken measures to establish three canned fish factories under the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and two of them have already commenced production with the aim of meeting the country's canned fish requirement without the need for imports.

Sri Lanka's first canned fish factory set up at a cost of Rs.840 million was opened in Galle by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

This factory produces 10,000 cans of fish per day. All measures are in place to double its production in the near future. The second canned fish factory was established in Mundalama in Puttalam at a cost of Rs.90 million and it also has a production capacity of 10,000 cans of fish.

The government spends Rs.5,120 million each year on canned fish imports. This can be reduced gradually with these three factories in operation.

The three canned fish factories will produce around 50,000 tins per day at the commencement and they will target the export market as well.