NAUTISCO Plans to Export Cambodian Seafood to Europe

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

NAUTISCO which is the only seafood manufacturing company in Cambodia has announced that it will be sending the first shipment of Cambodian seafood to Europe at the end of this year. This announcement was made during a press conference on NAUTISCO’s products’ launch on 27th October at the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh.

According to Pao Sambath, General Director of NAUTISCO, “to promote Cambodian seafood abroad, his company plans to export Cambodia’s seafood products for sales at the international markets in European countries at the end of 2009.” Sambath has spent US$5 million in constructing a seafood processing factory in Stung Hao district, Sihanouk Province in 2008.

The Director General said that due to the completion of the seafood factory in September 2009, his company now has employed over 200 workers in Sihanouk Province to process and pack many tons of shrimp products and now are ready to export for sales abroad.

“My company has just completed the packaging of the shrimp products and we are now looking for international markets to export our products to. My current priority is to export it for sales in Korea on the 30th of November 2009,” he told reporters at a press conference on October 27. “I also plan to export my shrimp products for sales in Japan, United States of America, Canada and other countries in Europe at the end of 2009,” he added.

Sambath said that he planned to first export at least from 3 to 5 containers of his shrimp products for sales in Korea in November 2009. His company plans to sell about 10 percent of seafood products for domestic consumption in Cambodia and 90 percent of its products in international markets in European countries in the future.

The company’s seafood products are currently available for sale at Lucky Super Markets and other modern supermarkets in Phnom Penh and other cities, and provinces in Cambodia.
As part of its NAUTISCO’s phase one activities, the company hired 200 workers and processed only shrimp, packaged in Sihanouk Province. Its phase two plan will recruit 400 more workers by the end of this year to process and package squid and big fish for sale in Europe.

“I am now happy and very proud that I am able to establish my own seafood factory to generate employment for Cambodian people, to reduce the poverty and contribute to the development and progress in Cambodia,” he said. “...I will enlarge my business activities and plan to hire thousands of Cambodian employees to work with my company in the future,” he continued.

Sambath’s decision to invest in a seafood processing manufacturing plant in Cambodia stemmed from Cambodia’s leadership under Samdech Hun Sen, who promotes civil peace and political stability. Secondly, there is a demand for seafood by people in Europe and the rest of the world. Thirdly, Cambodia has a lot of natural resources with large quantities and types of fish including ocean access as well as numerous large rivers and lakes. Lastly, Cambodia has available human resources to produce seafood products in the future.

Dr. Chhoun Chamnan, Fisheries Technical Expert of Fisheries Administration Department and Representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, showed his appreciation for NAUTISCO’s seafood product launching efforts in Cambodia. He said the NAUTISCO’s activities are indeed contributing to the development, progress and job creation for Cambodians.

Chamnan added that the NAUTISCO’s activities has also helped the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry as well as Cambodian government in promoting the management and effective use of natural resources such as river fish and sea fish. Processing Cambodian seafood products for sales at international markets in European countries is productive for the future of Cambodia.

“I appreciate and support the NAUTISCO’s hard work in establishing a manufacturing plant to produce seafood products in Cambodia,” he said. “I think that this NAUTISCO’s product launch is evidence of the company’s active participation in supporting the sustainable use of safe and quality seafood for its local clients and international markets in the future.”

Chamnan pointed out that Cambodia’s fishery sector has been playing important roles in providing food security, improving people’s living conditions, and strengthening the national economic growth and development in Cambodia. He said Cambodia’s fishery sector has generated occupations and jobs for over six million people, which is equal to 45 percent of the total people in Cambodia.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Cambodia is currently able to collect from 300,000 to 500,000 tons of fish per year and can also make between US$250 million to $300 million per year (about 10 to 16 percent of the GDP) from its sales abroad. ////

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