Shem Oirere is a Kenyan journalist who previously worked for daily newspapers as a general news correspondent, business reporter and sub-editor before turning to full-time freelancing. For the more than 20 years, he has covered various sectors of Africa’s economy including agriculture, food processing, and maritime industries. A graduate of the University of South Africa, he has traveled within and outside Africa covering various industry events that have a bearing on the continent’s economy on behalf of different international consumer and trade publications. He currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
Author Archive
Alfred Achar is the managing director and founder of Bayrise Fish Farm, a fast-growing fish farming company on the banks of Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest freshwater fishery. The firm specializes in rearing, preserving, and distributing naturally bred tilapia. Achar spoke with SeafoodSource about the status of East Africa’s aquaculture sector, the region’s fish market, and how Bayrise intends to leverage available market
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Kenya's earnings from seafood exports increased by more than 60 percent in 2022.
Two reports released in May 2023 by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) indicate the country's export earnings jumped to KES 5.6 billion (USD 40.5 million, EUR 37.5 million) in 2022 compared to KES 3.4 billion (USD 24.6 million, EUR 22.7 million) in 2022 as market prices appreciated. The per-kilo average price
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The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) has rated Ghana as a poor performer in marine fisheries transparency.
FiTI, an international, multistakeholder partnership that promotes transparency and participation in fisheries governance, has been performing country-by-country studies via the Taking Stock assessment series, which provides investigative analysis highlighting where their fishery transparency efforts currently stand.
The report,
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An ongoing economic crisis in Egypt is shaking the country's seafood sector, as it faces historic currency devaluation, rising inflation levels, and foreign currency shortages.
The country's inflation rate spiked 8.5 percent in 2022 due to the global crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, which lost half of its value compared to pre-conflict, according to an analysis by Stanbic Bank. Egypt
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Online seafood market Seafood Souq is stepping up support for its partners in Senegal, Oman, and Bangladesh.
The company aims to develop and implement seafood traceability systems to address illegal fishing and align supply chains to the fast-changing dynamics of the global seafood market.
Seafood Souq CEO Sean Dennis told SeafoodSource that Seafood Souq, through its traceability signature tool “SFS Trace,” is working with its
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Saudi Arabia’s efforts to increase its aquaculture production volume to 600,000 metric tons (MT) by 2030 received a major boost after two state-controlled institutions signed an agreement with American global food corporation Cargill to expand fish farming in the country.
Cargill, the Arabian agricultural services company (ARASCO), a national food and closed joint stock firm, and the NEOM Company signed a memorandum of understanding
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China’s zero-Covid lockdowns in the latter half of 2022, which weren't lifted until early December, reduced export volumes for South Africa-based Irvin & Johnson (I&J), negatively impacting its overall revenues and profits.
The lockdowns, which were extended to Hong Kong – combined with low catch rates in South Africa – pushed down I&J’s revenues 2.3 percent for the six months ending 31 December
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Cape Town, South Africa-based Sea Harvest Group posted higher sales and revenue for the year ending 31 December, 2022, but its gross and operating profit figures dropped due to higher costs.
The group’s total revenue rose 27 percent to ZAR 5.9 billion (USD 321 million, EUR 301 million) from ZAR 4.6 billion (USD 250 million, EUR 235 million) in 2021. Despite the higher revenue, the company saw a 25 percent decline in its earnings before
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Cape Town, South Africa-based seafood company Premier Fishing SA (PFSA), an affiliate of Premier Fishing and Brands – the largest black-owned and managed food and fishing company in South Africa – consolidated its share of the squid market by acquiring Talhado Fishing Enterprises, the largest producer of the species in the country.
PFSA will take up an additional 607 ordinary shares in the issued share capital of Talhado for ZAR 95
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Cameroon is now looking to ship its seafood elsewhere after the European Commission issued a “red card,” effectively banning Cameroonian seafood exports.
On 5 January, 2023, the E.C. identified Cameroon as a noncooperating country in the fight against illegal fishing for continuing to “register fishing vessels under its flag without demonstrating its ability to effectively control and monitor their fishing activities,
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