Muscat – To boost fish production and provide quality products to local and international markets, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) is exerting efforts to set up new factories across the sultanate.

According to the ministry, the number of fish factories increased to 105 in 2021, compared to 97 in 2020, a year-on year increase of 8.2 per cent.

MAFWR’s statistics indicate that the number of fish factories that have obtained quality control certificates and licence to export is 64.

Salman bin Khalaf al Subhi, director of Marketing and Fisheries Industries Department in the ministry, informed that MAFWR’s efforts to provide quality fish products to local and international markets is in line with Oman Vision 2040.

The ministry is working on stimulating the growth of the fish processing and marketing sector by encouraging investors, facilitating procedures, developing marketing mechanisms and opening new markets.

According to Subhi, fish processing activities offer a wide variety of investment opportunities, besides job opportunities.

MAFWR also aims to develop and introduce products for the local market and export Omani products in compliance with international standards and requirements.

The sultanate’s fish production at the end of January 2022 dropped by 36.2 per cent to 62,217 tonnes, compared to 97,498 tonnes in the same period in 2021.

Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information indicate a decrease in the value of fish production to RO34.351mn, down 22.1 per cent compared to RO44.123mn in the same period in 2021.