Businessmen from Turkey has concluded plan to invest in the fish and fish products sector in Gabon to help improve the impact of the seafood industry on the national economy.
The fishing sector is an important part of Gabon’s economy, representing 1.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
According to statistics from the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Duties (DGDI), fish and other products from the fishery sector brought in only 1 billion FCFA in 2021 against 1.4 billion in 2020.
Despite the government’s impressive attempts at improving the country’s fisheries department, most of its potential remains untapped.
Recently a meeting between the Gabonese Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, Oswald Sévérin Mayounou, and a delegation of Turkish investors was held to discuss the Turkish investors’ intentions of investing in Gabon’s field of fish and fish products.
The businessmen aim to set up a company in Gabon named ‘Bon Gabon’ that specializes in fish production.
“Our vision corresponds to that of the President of the Republic and that of the Minister, which is to develop Gabon’s fishery products on behalf of Gabon. I believe we can do it together” said Hakan Kiran the expected CEO of Bon Gabon.
According to Oswald, a general task force has been formed for the purposes of boosting and relaunching the industrialization of the tuna sector as part of the Transformation Acceleration Plan (PAT)
“With this partnership, we hope to quickly be able to put something in place that will suit both parties and relaunch this activity,” the Gabonese Minister reported.
The building of this new fish facility will help increase the fishing sector’s contribution to the country’s economy. The target is to double the national fish production by up to 50,000 tonnes by 2050.
The facility further supports government initiatives such as Gabon Bleu which are targeted at solving the challenges faced by the country’s fishing sector.
The initiative aims to conserve marine biodiversity, improve governance at sea and reform the fisheries sector to ensure sustainability.
