| Attract More SME Entreprenuers To Aquaculture, MOA Urged |
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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry (MOA) should have in place a special mechanism to attract more small and medium enterprise (SME) entreprenuers to take up aquaculture, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said such a mechanism was important to enable SMEs to raise aquaculture ouput in the country and expand the sector at the international level.
"The point is that we want to attract investments, no matter big or small. I think this sector will hold greater potential if more SME entreprenuers are involved," he told a press conference after opening the Asia-Pacific Aquaculture Conference and Malaysian International Seafood Exposition 2009 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here on Wednesday.
He suggested that MOA revive its aquaculture development fund for funding purposes and also make it easier for the entreprenuers to get funding.
Muhyiddin said the MOA should also expand cooperation with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) to the help the entreprenuers in terms of technology so that more high quality aquaculture products could be produced in the line with the increased demand for fish-based products in the world market.
"SMEs can also work with the private sector to develop aquaculture by buying aquaculture produce to be processed into frozen food.
"In terms of quality, international standards like HACCP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Point) and ISO requirements must be met," he said.
In his speech, Muhyiddin said the government was serious in its commitment to develop and expand the market for made-in-Malaysia aquaculture produce and fish-based products globally.
He said that to successfully penetrate the world market, the products must meet the stringent international standards of food safety and quality of food.
"In the last few years, we have witnessed the rapid expansion of aquaculture production globally. Production increased from 40 million tonnes in 2002 to 52 million tonnes in 2006," he added.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia had no other option than to rely on aquaculture to meet demand.
"Our per capita consumption of fish is currently at 50 kilogrammes, one of the highest in the world, while total demand for fish food is expected to increase from 1.3 million tonnes in 2008 to 1.7 million tonnes in 2015 and the extra is expected to be met by aquaculture production," he said.
The four-day conference and expo which began yesterday is being attended by over 1,000 local and foreign participants including form Canada, Norway, Mexico and Thailand.
-- BERNAMA
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