Nigeria Imports $650M of Aquaponic Frozen Fish Every Year
President of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), Mrs. Foluke Areola, has said Nigeria imported 739,700 tonnes of frozen fish worth $650.53 million in 2007. Areola said in Lagos, that the figure was lower than the 800,000 tones imported in 2006.
She said the bulk of the supply came from Europe, Asia, South Pacific, South America and some African countries, stating that “Scandinavia also supplies about 160,000 tonnes of stockfish worth more than $400 million annually”.
According to her, official statistics indicate that Nigeria’s demand for imported frozen fish, especially mackerel, herring and croaker, is growing. Areola said 90 per cent of frozen fish in the country were sold at local markets, while the remaining 10 per cent were sold at supermarkets and other outlets. “The combination of low domestic production and increasing incomes is driving demand for import,” she said.
Areola also said the Federal Government was collaborating with stakeholders to boost aquaculture and fish production in the country.
“Catfish and Tilapia are the major species farmed by local fish farmers, deep sea shrimp farming is growing but most of this is sold for export and not consumed domestically,” she stated.
The FISON chief said Nigeria was re-certified to export shrimps to the United States in 2007, saying the country’s shrimps were in high demand in Europe and America.
This article is courtesy of http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=129496
