AP: MPEDA to set up chilled tuna facility

Visakhapatnam, Mar 24: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) will set up a chilled tuna handling facility at the fishing harbour here at a cost of Rs two crore.

Speaking to the press here, he said the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is aiming to increase tuna fish exports to 500 million US Dollar (Rs 2,000 crore) by 2012, from the existing 29 million US Dollar (Rs 116 crore), Mr Ramesh said.

He said Andhra Pradesh accounted for a third of seafood exports from India. With dwindling shrimp catch, the focus was now on tuna fishing.

Shrimp accounted for 54 per cent of total exports, he said adding Rs ten crore was spent on setting up a National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture at Kakinada to help small farmers with tuna fishing.

He also said the MPEDA had given subsidy to 22 trawlers based in the city which were converted into tuna long-liners last year, he said.

UNI