Dhofar Fisheries & Food Industries Co SAOG (DFFICO) says it plans to invest in a full-fledged fish processing factory at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Duqm, anchored by a sardine cannery plant that will capitalise on the abundant sardine resources of the Sultanate.
The publicly traded firm, which is listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, said construction work on the project had commenced last year, with plant operations slated for launch by 2022.
“This factory is being set up near the coastal area for the utilisation of the abundant supply of sardine’’, said Mahdi Mohammed Hassan Hassani, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“Incidentally, the sardine resources of the Sultanate of Oman are the third largest in the world. Besides, as the factory is in the free zone, there are many advantages, which would significantly reduce the operating costs’’, he stated in the Directors’ Report released here on Monday.
The fisheries sector — one of five thrust areas identified for aggressive development in support of Oman’s economic diversification strategies — is witnessing strong investment inflows across all aspects of the industry, encompassing fishery harbours, support infrastructure, processing and value adding plants, cold chain services and large-scale cluster developments.
These investments are being driven primarily by the government and public sector fisheries organisations, but also by increasing numbers of private players.
Salalah-based DFFICO, which completes 20 years of operations this year, has also outlined plans to expand and diversify its processing and value adding capabilities.
In addition to the planned launch of dairy and juice processing activities in a 5,280 sq metre area within its Raysut premises, the company has also expanded its cold storage, can storage and packing area facilities.
Despite a 10 per cent uptick in turnover (RO 8.746 million) during 2020, DFFICO posted a net loss of RO 1.227 million for the year, compared to a loss of RO 0.939 million a year earlier.
Accumulated losses climbed to RO 8.077 million as on December 31, 2020, the company added.
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