New tilapia fish products enter market
Almost 3 million Cambodians earn their living from the fishing industry, which will now get a boost in sustainability. KT/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodia Fresh Farm is supplying processed fish products using Japanese techniques and selling them to local supermarkets while it is in talks to ship the food to the Land of the Rising Sun.
The firm has started a trial operation after gaining support from Phnom Penh people, said Chav Soursdey, chief executive officer of Cambodia Fresh Farm.
Cambodia Fresh Farm, in the capital’s Sen Sok district, is a venture with Rainbow Progress Enterprises Co Ltd with the support of Japanese funding and technical assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. A tilapia fish of 0.5 to 0.6 kilogrammes can be processed into 14 different pieces, each representing a different product, he said. The products are currently supplied to Aeon Mall and the firm is in talks with Makro, he added. “With proper practice of Japanese style filleting techniques, we have gained support and purchase orders have been placed.”
The fish supplies are made by the aquaculture arm of the company and contracted fish farmers.
Veng Sakhon, minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, applauded the project. “With investment in processing farmed fish, I hope in the near future, the aquaculture sector for both tilapia fish or general seafood will progress through forming a cluster of production and practices that follow standard demands from the market, particularly boosting contract farming,” Sakhon continued.
Cambodia Fresh Farm is currently in talks with partners in Japan to ship the processed fish products from Cambodia to Japan, according to Soursdey.
A new $10 million processing factory is to be constructed that will establish a standardised processing factory to ensure quality of product and capacity, he said.
The Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Administration said total fishery production in the Kingdom approached 1 million tonnes in 2020. Khmer Times
