KOCHI:
Handy jars filled with shrimp-feed of use at various stages of growth of the aquatic species catch the attention of the kiosk that is one among the 330-odd stalls put up at the ongoing 22nd India International Seafood Show (IISS) in the city.
The feeds for the elongated creature are of five kinds, explains a representative of Andhra Pradesh’s Devi Seafoods Ltd, which has displayed products at the showpiece event in marine sector organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and the Seafood Export Association of India (SEAI).
The February 7-9 event showcases the latest technological interventions in the global aquaculture sector, with focus on India.
Vannamei feed “is scientifically formulated to meet the complete nutritional requirement of the shrimp,” informs the 1992-founded company based in Vijayawada. Fortified with vitamins and minerals, the product with “balanced amino acid profile” caters to shrimps at their five stages of growth before harvest in a lifespan of three months.
Seafood India, an MPEDA initiative, has its stall at 22nd IISS. It is a one-stop shop which retails export-quality processed seafood products from across the country. The facility, which sells ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat value-added products, speaks of products developed by prominent fisheries research institutions such as CMFRI, CIFT and NIFPHATT besides selling and displaying value-added marine products of exporters.
If nutritious feed is vital to the growth of aquatic animals, equally important is the value addition they gain on entering the supply chain as a product, notes MPEDA Chairman K S Srinivas. “We are into stricter quality control alongside enhanced production and diversification,” he adds.
During 2018-19, India exported over 14,37,000 tonnes of marine products worth over US$ 6.70 billion as per provisional figures. With a multi-pronged strategy, addressing capture fisheries and aquaculture, it is expected to achieve an export turnover of $ 15 billion in the next five years, Fofandi revealed.
The stalls at the IISS are spread over 7,000 sq m, showcasing a wide range of products based on automated and IT-aided pre-processing, processing and storage technologies for value addition. In addition, they provide an opening for service providers such as the logistics and certifying/testing segments.
For instance, Chennai Mettex Lab has on display equipments that are used for testing of feeds, agri products and water, among others. “We leverage our resources to meet the needs of industries processing food and feeds. We test fishery products, do microbiological testing, final production inspection and container inspection, among others,” says S Sri Renganathan, Technical Manager of the firm set up in the Tamil Nadu capital in 1984.
Closer to the venue of IISS 2020 that will conclude this Sunday is Triton Trading Corporation that has an office in suburban Kochi’s Vennala. “With half a century’s experience, we operate in importing, exporting, manufacturing and distributing of food additives for local as well as international food suppliers,” says Biju Isac, General Manager of the firm, which is the official distributor in India of Jirakorn, headquartered in Samutprakan, Thailand.
Storage is equally vital for marine products. Godrej, for example, has its Storage Solutions wing that has come up with pallet racking products such as ‘Selective Double Deep’ and ‘Shuttle’. “The future lies in automation; we are into making products with a vision of a decade ahead,” says Aaron Ashish Tom, Assistant Manager (Engineering Sales) of Godrej and Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, Coimbatore.
The racks carry products that need to be frozen. OctoFrost, for instance, is a Swedish group that has an India office near Delhi. “We supply IQF (individually quick-frozen) food-processing lines that include tunnel freezers, impingement flash chillers, IF cookers and IF blanchers,” reveals Manmohan Singh of OctoFrost’s office in Faridabad, Haryana. “We facilitate chilling and freezing of the products after their cooking.”
Push Engineering is based near Pune in Maharashtra, where the company produces ice plants. “Our factory-assembled skid-mounted units reduce commissioning time at sites besides reducing installation space requirements,” points out Pravin M Patel, Marketing Manager of the firm in Pirangut of Mulshi taluk.
Mahadev Enterprise from Varaval in Gujarat has on display a range of wearing that suits working conditions in marine food factories. These include T-shirts, coats, salwar-kurta, caps, aprons, gumboots, shoes, gloves, masks and ear-strips.
Manjushree Group, based near Hyderabad, has put up products that cater to the market needs for flexible packaging. “We specialise in printing on various substrates, multi-layer laminates with metallised foiled substrates,” says Nisha Agarwal of the firm in Telangana capital.
JISL of Mumbai produces industrial weighing scales with multipurpose applications. “Also, we have label printers that are ideal for final packing or shipping of products,” adds S Ganganathan of the firm that has branches in seven cities of the country.
Ranjit Suseelan of the Marine Stewardship Council notes that overfishing and poor practices in the trade have had a negative effect on the supply of the product. “It is important that fish stocks are protected and harvested in a sustainable way so that it is available for future generations,” he adds.
The 1972-founded MPEDA, as the nodal agency of Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is headquartered in Kochi. IISS 2020, a biennial event that has come to this city after 12 years, was inaugurated on Friday by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan.
