MOZAMBIQUE | Fishing product exports from expected to raise USD80m in 2014

Mozambican exports of fishing products are this year expected to bring in around USD80 million, or US$5 million more (+6.7 percent) than revenues achieved in 2013, Mozambique’s Fishing Ministry said.
Fishing products from Mozambique are exported to European Union markets such as Portugal and Spain as well as to South Africa and China.
According to a source cited by Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias, shrimp exports have been losing ground to capenta, a freshwater fish found in the Cahora Bassa reservoir.
Last year, for example, shrimp exports raised US$24 million and capenta exports provided the same amount of income.
According to government officials, growth in revenues is a sign of the improved quality of the Mozambican product, mainly in relation to very demanding markets such as the EU.
As a result of increased investments in new fishing equipment and techniques the fishing sector has posted growth of between 10 and 12 percent in the last few years.
Despite this production is still far from meeting domestic demand and Mozambique has to import around 52,000 tons of fish per year, 50,000 tons of which is horse mackerel, which is widely-accepted and relatively cheap.
Per capita fish consumption in Mozambique is around 11 kilos per year and is expected to rise to 18 kilos over the next few years according to the Fishing Master Plan. MDT/Macauhub