2003 Mozambique Aquaculture

2003 Mozambique Aquaculture

Supporting the creation of a shrimp farm in Mozambique

Sector : Fishing and fish farming
Implementation: AQUAPESCA
Country: Mozambique

Content

Farmed shrimps are increasingly sought after as a source of supply as a result of certain fish stocks being overexploited. They are Mozambique’s third biggest export.

AQUAPESCA produces high-quality king shrimps. Production is mainly destined for the high-end segment of the French market which represented a market of roughly 8 500 tonnes in 2002 when the project was prepared. AQUAPESCA consequently benefits from higher prices than those for wild shrimps or shrimps produced in Asia.

PROPARCO is supporting AQUAPESCA in the development of its activity by providing 10 million euros of financing.

Objectives

The industrialisation of AQUAPESCA’s production provides a way for Mozambique to develop a source of foreign currency while maintaining a rational management of shrimp resources.

Project description

In 1994, Agence Française de Développement and PROPARCO supported the launch of a pilot phase which included 20 hectares of ponds and a hatchery in the region of Quelimane. The industrialisation phase of the project began in 2002 and involved the construction of a hatchery, a 300 hectare production farm and a processing and packaging plant for the frozen products.

Thanks to this investment, which required a total of 26.1 million euros of financing, production increased to almost 800 tonnes of frozen shrimps in 2005, and to 1 200 tonnes in 2006. The bulk of AQUAPESCA’s production is destined to be cooked and sold on French markets under a “cooked fresh” label.

Impacts

AQUAPESCA is established in a particularly disadvantaged region in Mozambique. It makes a significant contribution to the economic development of this region, first by creating 600 local jobs, including around a hundred for women, and second via the implementation of a poverty reduction programme. This programme includes:

>> participating in AIDS awareness-raising and screening,
>> financing a local primary school, and
>> supporting vocational training.
AQUAPESCA also contributes to opening up the Quelimane region. Indeed, the port infrastructure financed by the company for its shrimp exports has improved shipping access in the region.
In addition, as all the company’s income is in foreign currency, it generates a net transfer of foreign currency which is favourable for Mozambique.

From an environmental point of view, the production technique that has been adopted requires few agrochemical products and limits the discharge of organic matter into the natural environment.

Date and amounts

Start-up: 2003
Financing: 10 million euro loan.


Liens utiles

  AQUAPESCA