ISSN: 2265-6294

Exploring the opportunities to promote value-added products in the fisheries sector in the Sultanate of Oman

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Mohammed Al Haziazi, Subrahmanian Muthuraman, Kabaly P Subramanian, Sherimon PC, Yousuf Al Husaini

Abstract

The Sultanate of Oman has identified aquaculture as one of the key pillars to diversify its national economy. The goal of the Government of Oman is to make the Omani economy independent of its non-renewable resources. Expansion of the fisheries sector seems to be the first positive development in the intended direction. The focus of fisheries sector in Oman is to make seafood export as high standards on international markets and increase the contribution of seafood to the country’s GDP. The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities to promote value added products in seafood industry in Oman by evaluating the previous literature in a broader spectrum of seafood industry. Oman is a country which is rich in waterbodies containing ample seafood and the nation also has a treasure trove of fishermen already working in this traditional sector. As the fisheries and aquaculture sectors are closely linked to other sectors, it is likely that further investments will create new business opportunities which will contribute to the growth and well-being of the nation. Export of seafood is very important for Oman to diversify the economy, but further to achieve higher living standards to fishermen in the country. In the present state, because of the export of raw fish, the value addition is not taking place. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resource plan for comprehensive advancement of fisheries industries in the Sultanate in line with the sustainability of fisheries resources. This is achieved through the increase of value-added fish processing projects and the diversification of fish products, while meeting the requirements of quality, safety, and competition in global markets. The future study will investigate effective strategies to promote value-added products in fisheries sector in Sultanate of Oman to increase the revenue generated from export market.

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