KOCHI: With the aim of increasing production of value-added fish products threefold, the State Government has proposed establishment of a processing facility with international standards in the State.
Speaking after launching ‘Drish Kerala’, a new range of value-added dry fish products from the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation (KSCADC), here, Fisheries Minister K Babu said the State Government had plans to set up a fully mechanised manufacturing and processing facility of international standard.
“A proposal for the facility has been submitted to the National Fisheries Board. Once materialised, it would increase the production capacity from 5 tonne to 15 tonne, besides providing jobs to the women in coastal areas,” he said.
On Saturday, the Minister had launched three brands of solar dried fish products at a brief function here. The brands were named Neendakara, Ashtamudi and Malabar. “Fish and prawns are directly procured from fish landing centres and processed at the Shaktikulangara plant of the Corporation,” said KSCADC managing director K Ampady. “Fresh fish are cleaned and processed at the state-of-the-art plant in hygienic conditions, and branded. The ready-to-cook products are prepared with optimum salt content and minimum water content. They are packed in high-quality multi-layered transparent pouches, providing colour and odour retention,” he said.
“After the Kerala market, the Drish Kerala products will be expanded to the other states, especially in the North East,” he added.