Outsourcing gets fishy

Chennai, Jan 11: After IT outsourcing, it's turn of outsourcing of seafood products from India, according to Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh.

''If we can outsource IT products, why cannot we outsource seafood products'', asked the minister.

Inaugurating 'Indaqua-2007', an international seminar on aquaculture organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) here today, he said in the next three years India would emerge as a outsourcing hub for seafood products.

He said seafood products would be imported, reprocessed in India and exported back to global markets like the US, Europe and other countries where there were tremendous potential for processed seafood products.

''However, it calls for a lot of protocol arrangements and I am in touch with various ministries in this regard'', he added.

''In the next five to ten years about one million tonnes of seafood products, especially fin fish, will be reprocessed in India and exported to global market'', Mr Ramesh said.

He said, ''it involves huge capital and high standards. More important is that we should have tie-up with big buyers.'' Sharing the industry's concern on ensuring disease-free shrimp, Mr Ramesh said the MPEDA would set up the country's first bio-secure zone in the country in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for development of pathogen-free brood stock shrimp for supplying to hatcheries.

Pointing out Andaman and Nicobar Islands was the only place where disease-free shrimp was available in plenty, he said the bio-secure zone would be set up with a investment of Rs 10 crore, which would be scaled up to Rs 20 crore in a phased manner.

''It (the zone) will be ready in the next three years by 2010, by which shrimp varieties will be pathogen-free'', he added.

Regretting that substantial potential of brackish water aquaculture remained unutilised in several states, Mr Ramesh said the Centre would lay more emphasis on states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa where the potential was high. ''Only 15 per cent of the country's total potential has been utilised so far, with bulk utilisation in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal''.

Gujarat constitutes about 32 per cent of India's total brackish water potential, but the utilisation was a mere one per cent.

''The focus states will be Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa. The Centre will give more emphasis an optimum utilisation of brackwish water potential'', he said.

Mr Ramesh also called for integration of the MPEDA, which was functioning under Commerce Ministry, and National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), which is under Agriculture Ministry, for betterment of the industry.

''At present both are functioning as two parallel streams.

We want both of them to jointly host the Indaqua at Orissa in 2009,'' he added.

Tamil Nadu Governor S S Barnala and Fisheries Ministers from Karnataka, Orissa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu spoke at the inaugural function of the three-day conference.

UNI