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Icelandic merchants to establish fish farm in Nigeria
Vincent Ujumadu
A group of stockfish merchants from Iceland has indicated its intention to establish a fish farm in Nigeria for the purpose of producing stock fish in Nigeria.
This followed a request made by Governor Orji Uzor Kalu when the group visited him on Monday. The governor had appealed to them to form partnership with Nigerians in processing the fish locally with a view to bringing down the cost.
Leader of the group, Mr. Kristman Kristmansom said that although the Nigerian temperature was not ideal for the production of stockfish, the businessmen from Iceland would consider setting up fish farms to produce species that could be processed into stockfish.
He attributed the high cost of stockfish in the country to the high cost of production, coupled with the high duties and clearing difficulties at the ports.
According to him, there are only 20,0000 tons of fish that could be processed into stockfish, adding that in spite of high demand of the fish in ports of Europe, the manufacturers have been trying to maintain the quality exported to Nigeria.
While in Nigeria, the group held discussions with stockfish importers in the country and visited the various stockfish markets in Aba where enquiries about consumers' reactions to the quality of stockfish supplied in Nigeria were made.
A member of the entourage and an Aba-based importer, Chief Okebulu Jumbo said the group decided to visit Aba because it is the largest stockfish market in the country, adding that they needed to interact with the stockfish traders to know their problems.
He commended the state government for improving on the road network in Aba which has helped to ease the movement of containers in the city. | 
