Fisheries sector, boat industry to establish biz ventures with Norwegian partners

Monday, 21 February 2011 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

An eight member high-powered business delegation dealing with the fisheries/boat industry from Norway will be visiting Colombo this week to establish potential business contacts with the business community in Sri Lanka.

In order to facilitate companies to interact with the delegates, the Sri Lanka-Norway Matchmaking Programme of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be organising a Matchmaking Event on 23 February at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo.

The delegates are mainly dealing in designing of catamaran fishing vessels, discharge systems for deliveries for fish meal and fish meal plants, fish farm cages, anchor and mooring systems, fish farming pumps, long line equipment, supply of boats, deck machinery for oil and gas, marine and fishing industries and transfer of technology for aquaculture industry etc.

The fishing industry is the second largest export sector in Norway after oil and gas. The industry includes the traditional fishing, as well as fish farming and processing of all kinds of seafood at onshore facilities.

Due to various factors, such as new technology and equipment, restructuring of the sector and international competition, etc., the Norwegian fishing industry has improved tremendously during the past few years. The main reason for this is that Norway controls some of the world’s richest fishing grounds.

The North Sea, Norway’s coastal waters, the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea polar front are all very productive, and there are important fish breeding grounds just off the coast. Norway’s coastal districts also lend themselves to aquaculture, an industry which has developed rapidly in recent years and grown into a valuable coastal industry.

There are many opportunities for Sri Lankan companies dealing in fisheries/boat industry in Sri Lanka to learn the new technology introduced by the Norwegian companies, said the Spokesman of the Sri Lanka-Norway Matchmaking Programme.

The Sri Lanka-Norway Industrial Cooperation (Matchmaking) Programme was initiated by the Sri Lanka-Nordic Business Council in 1993. Its objective is to facilitate the transfer of Norwegian knowhow, competence, technology and skills to Sri Lanka by way of a matchmaking process. The programme is funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD).

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce acts as the National Contact Point in Sri Lanka while NB Partner AS, an industrial consultancy firm in Norway acts as the National Contact Point in Norway. The programme has identified several sectors as having potential for cooperation agreements and investment possibilities on the basis of the availability of Norwegian industrial competence.

These sectors include aquaculture technology and equipment, fishing gear, boat building and services, processed fish and shellfish products, power generation, environmental technology, information technology, etc. The programme also facilitates trading between Sri Lankan and Norwegian business enterprises.

Further details regarding the business matchmaking event could be obtained from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.