Mekong delta seafood firms urged to invest in India

HCM City (VNA) – Mekong delta An Giang province and India have good prospects for co-operation in aquaculture and processing, a meeting between business executives from the two sides heard in Ho Chi Minh City on May 12.

Smita Pant, the Indian consul general in HCM City, said An Giang and other provinces in the Mekong Delta region possess certain advantages in farming and processing, especially of basa.

Vietnamese fisheries products are exported to many markets and India is a huge market with a population of 1.2 billion.

The Indian Government offers incentives to foreign investors in aquaculture and seafood processing, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu states, she said.

She called on An Giang to send a delegation of leading seafood firms to the three states to do market research and explore investment opportunities, especially in projects to produce basa brood stock.

Ramesh Anand, managing director of Canopus Inter-Trade Pte Ltd, said the Indian market also offers good opportunities for An Giang firms to export basa products.

Vietnamese basa fish fillet is already available at many five-star hotels in India, he said.

Seafood demand is quite high in India, but businesses need to offer competitive prices, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, Deputy Chairman of the An Giang People’s Committee, said his province is strong in agriculture, with rice, fish, fruits, and vegetables being the key items.

The province would send a delegation to India to study the market and boost exports of basa and invest in aquaculture, he told the media on the sidelines of the event.

Besides its traditional markets, the province also seeks to boost basa exports to other markets with high demand, including India, he said.

The An Giang and Indian businesses also discussed co-operation in IT, agro-chemicals, vegetables and fruits, human resource training, and tourism.

An Giang University sought tie-ups for training IT engineers to international standards, carrying out research into the internet of things for agriculture, e-governance and others and exchanging students and researchers.

The province sought Indian investment in tourism, especially in developing four- and five-star accommodation, theme parks, cuisine areas, and trade and convention centres.

Binh said trade between the province and India was worth nearly 8 million USD in 2016, with the province’s exports accounting for more than 2 million USD.

The numbers are modest, and there is room for much greater trade ties, he said.

Such interactions are a good opportunity for businesses from the two sides to exchange information and explore opportunities, he added. - VNA