China’s leading exporter of tilapia has signaled it will increase aquaculture output in Africa.
Baiyang Investment Group-controlled Guangxi Xiang He Shun Distant Water Fishing Co. is developing 1,000 hectares of near-shore aquaculture near its fishing port and processing center in Mauritania, company executives recently told officials from the Guangxi provincial government. It is not clear which species will be cultured.
In a sign of how closely Chinese distant-water fishery firms cooperate with the Chinese government, the Mauritania project has been celebrated in Beihai, the major port city of Guangxi Province, as a major driver for the local economy.
The Xiang He Shun catch in Mauritania is processed by Beihai Qin Frozen Foods Co., another Baiyang subsidiary. In a meeting with government officials, Xiang He Shun Chairman Sun Zhongyi – also the chairman of Baiyang – said his firm had invested CNY 1.5 billion (USD 217.5 million, EUR 191.7 million) in its Mauritania operations. He added that his company’s expansion in Mauritania would be of “major economic benefit” to Beihai, as the city’s port had booked 8,327 metric tons of seafood from Mauritania in the first half of 2018 alone.
The city has spent CNY 60 million (USD 8.7 million, EUR 7.7 million) on supporting the distant-water fleet, Beihai Deputy Mayor Liu Xiang said at the meeting.
