Govt to set up cold storage plants for prawns

The setting up of the three plants will involve a total investment of about Rs 20 crore. While the Visakhapatnam and Narsapur plants will be of 3,000 tonnes capacity each, the plant in the Nellore district will be of 1,000 tonnes capacity.

The state government is initiating steps to set up the cold storage and procession plants along with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA), prawn farmers and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

Aqua farmers in the state produce about 80,000-90,000 tonnes of black tiger shrimp and scampi (fresh water prawn) annually, and the government earns more than Rs 1500 crore foreign exchange by exporting shrimp to Japan, the US and the European Union countries.

Under the rural infrastructure development fund scheme, Nabard has earmarked Rs 20 crore for the year 2005-06 for the establishment of cold storage facilities in the state. This amount will be given to the state as a loan with an interest rate of 6.5 per cent a year.

"To make use of these funds, we are requesting the state government to take steps to set up the cold storage plants within a couple of years," Raghunadha Reddy, secretary-general, SEAI, told Business Standard.

SEAI will set up a 3,000-tonne capacity cold storage plant, testing lab and a processing plant at Visakhapatnam at an investment of about Rs 9 crore. For this, the association would avail loans from Nabard and would also contribute some equity, he said.

The West Godavari District Prawn Farmers Cooperative Association will set up the 1,000-tonne capacity cold storage plant attached with a 20-tonne capacity processing plant, which will cost about Rs 5 crore at Narsapur.

The Prawn Farmers Cooperative Association has agreed to contribute 10 per cent of the total cost of the plant as the farmers equity. The remaining amount would be provided by the state government, Reddy said.

For the 3,000-tonne capacity cold storage plant in Nellore district, the government has decided to invite private investment.

The Nellore District Prawn Farmers Association will patronise this cold storage plant while MPEDA will provide Rs 20 lakh to 60 lakh as subsidy depending upon the capacity of the plants.

The state marketing department has promised to allot land for setting up the cold storage plants at nominal yearly rentals, Reddy said.