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Business Recorder
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Seafood export target set at $450m, minister told
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Maritimes Affairs has set seafood export target at $450 million this year and a non-tax revenue target of Rs 250 million within next three years. This was told by Marine Fisheries Department (MDF) Director General (DG) Dr Mansoor Ali Wasan to the Federal Minister for Maritimes Affairs Junaid Akbar Chaudhary. The DG MDF said that his department has initiated establishing a fisheries dialogue, research centre, revamping the fisheries training center to conduct 300 training sessions over three years and reactivating four laboratories to achieve the targets. Pakistan's seafood exports from July to May (2020-24) stood at $383.088 million; an increase from $373.382 million recorded during the same period in 2019-23. This reflects a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 2.6 percent, despite global economic challenges and fluctuating trade patterns. He added Pakistan is endowed with immense fishing potential, thanks to our 1,000-kilometre-long coastline, diverse aquatic species, and favourable climatic conditions. China has emerged as a pivotal partner in our seafood trade, accounting for a substantial portion of our exports. Pakistan's seafood exports reached $410.268 million in fiscal year 2023-24, a decrease of 17.4 percent compared to the record high of $496.6 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year. DrWasan informed the maritime minister that stakeholders in fisheries, such as fishermen, exporters, and crew members will receive training at the Fisheries Research Centre. The minister urged KoFHA to accelerate the Pak Aqua public-private venture to enhance trade by leveraging private sector investment for facility modernisation and operational efficiency. The minister emphasised the importance of climate-resilient infrastructure in a new maritime strategy, aiming to modernise ports, reduce environmental impact, and boost economic growth. In a series of high-level meetings, the minister reviewed progress across key maritime institutions, including the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Korangi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KoFHA), and the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD), emphasising environmental sustainability. The minister assessed the implementation of PQA's 10-year development plan focused on increasing cargo handling capacity and modernising infrastructure to establish the port as a regional maritime logistics hub. Junaid Anwar Chaudhry also evaluated KPT's reform strategy emphasising governance, human capital, operational modernisation, financial sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and service delivery. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tamil Nadu sees Blue Economy as a powerful tool to bring sustainable prosperity to coastal districts
Of late, there has been a growing buzz around the blue economy in Tamil Nadu power corridors. The phrase implies economic activities associated with the ocean, seas and coastal regions, which includes shipbuilding, processing and exporting of seafood, and coastal tourism. Tamil Nadu boasts of having the second longest coastline in India (after Gujarat). But the resource hasn't been tapped to a satisfactory extent. And that is something the TN govt is out to fix. "As TN charts its course towards our CM's (M K Stalin) ambition of a $1 trillion economy, the Blue Economy presents some of the most exciting opportunities. Despite having the second longest coastline in India, we believe our coast is still underutilized from an economic standpoint. This is something we are now addressing with urgency through a vision laid out by our CM," said T R B Rajaa, TN Minister for Industries. "We see the Blue Economy as a powerful tool to bring sustainable prosperity to our coastal districts, through investments that create large job opportunities for both skilled and semi-skilled talents," he added. The state's approach is strategic and focused on three key areas – shipbuilding, seafood processing and coastal tourism. Each of these has the potential to dramatically transform livelihoods and local economies. "The key strategy is maximizing the potential of TN's long coastline. Besides the focus areas, we could tap the state's port facilities spread across its coast. Shipbuilding is an area that has drawn the attention of the Centre as well. The Centre has ambitious plans to be part of the top five shipbuilding nations by 2047. In February, during the Union Budget 2025, a key maritime sector announcement was regarding the establishment of the ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF) to support long-term investments in the sector. The other big ticket takeaway was the introduction of the revamped Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP 2.0) to encourage more participation in shipbuilding activities. With an improved outlay of ₹18,090 crore, this policy is aimed at strengthening domestic shipyards and enhancing their global competitiveness. Tamil Nadu is also working on a Marine Transport policy which could be out in a month, and this could generate a lot of economic opportunities," said Darez Ahamed, MD & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu. To understand the potential offered by shipbuilding - consider that just one anchor investor can unlock an entire value chain of MSMEs in welding, precision engineering, logistics and marine services. The state has already initiated talks with global players to set up shipbuilding facilities in TN. As per sources, the order books of these international operators are packed till 2032. On its part, the state must provide the infrastructure needed to help them to establish their units here. For every job created inside the shopfloor of a shipbuilding company, seven jobs will be created outside. That's the potential it offers, say stakeholders. In the seafood sector, TN is no longer content with being just a supplier of raw catch. The game plan now is to build end-to-end infrastructure for seafood processing, cold chains and export-quality packaging, ensuring that value addition happens right here in the state's fishing hamlets, creating better incomes and sustainable livelihoods for the coastal communities. Infrastructure, especially roads connecting the coastal belt, cold chains along the TN coast, availability of power for these cold chains, mapping the wasteland on the coast, utilizing it adequately for growth of marine food and processing industries, are some of the key areas TN should focus on, said a leading consultant for the marine food industry, on condition of anonymity. "We will be addressing all the issues that have been holding back the growth of the seafood industry in Tamil Nadu, vis-a-vis neighbouring states including Andhra Pradesh, which accounts for Rs 26,000 crore worth seafood exports as against TN's Rs 8,000 crore. We would soon match the best performing states in this sector," a TN govt official said. Coastal tourism is a major plus point. Tamil Nadu's coast is beautiful, diverse and rich in culture, but it remains largely unexplored. The state is developing a blueprint to unlock this through sustainable, community-led tourism, which will entail eco-friendly resorts, avenues for water-based recreational activities and support for local entrepreneurship. The aim is to make the coast a world-class destination; while keeping it rooted in tradition. "To ensure this transformation is inclusive, we plan to skill the youth in coastal regions through initiatives under the Naan Mudhalvan programme. We want our coastal communities to be more than beneficiaries. They must be the driving force behind this change. Tamil Nadu's Blue Economy strategy is also about building a just, green and resilient future for our coastal communities, and we are committed to making it a reality," Rajaa said. So, of the three segments that have got the special focus under the Blue Economy strategy, which one might get a head start? "We would like all three to take off big-time, since the opportunities are significant. But realistically, the first shipbuilding could take off in just about a year from now," says Guidance Tamil Nadu's Ahamed. That's just on the horizon.
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Fibreboard manufacturer fined $12k for large wastewater spill
A section of Saltwater Creek, which was polluted by the spill. Photo: Supplied / Google Maps The company responsible for a wastewater spill that killed thousands of fish in a North Canterbury creek has been convicted and fined $12,000. Fibreboard manufacturers Daiken New Zealand had pleaded guilty to the charge late last year, which carried a maximum penalty of $600,000. The company is wholly owned by major Japanese multinational conglomerate Daiken Corporation but is not associated with air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries. The charge - brought by the Canterbury Regional Council under the Resource Management Act - was of discharging of a contaminant onto or into land in a manner that resulted in the contaminant entering water, after wastewater spilled from the medium density fibreboard (MDF) factory into Saltwater Creek, a tributary of the Rakahuri/Ashley River. The spill, which happened overnight on 31 August 2023, saw wastewater contaminated by substances used in the MDF refining processes, including paraffin, urea, formaldehyde, resin, bacteria, and surfactants, as well as a small amount of treated human waste. The court heard the spill was caused by a failure in piping waste from one part of Daiken's wastewater system to another. Daiken's wastewater system was made up of an oxidation pond, an aerated pond, storage lagoons and a partially suspended lagoon (PSL), which is about 30 metres from Saltwater Creek. Recently installed Venturi manual pumps operated continuously to keep the PSL at a constant level. When a Daiken employee noticed the outlet tube of first of the new pumps was vibrating, he fixed a custom-made brace to it. But when two other pumps were installed shortly before the spill, their tubes were left unsecured. One of the tubes broke overnight, resulting in about 1500-1700 m3 of wastewater spilling onto land and into Saltwater Creek. The Daiken New Zealand Ltd factory in Ashley, near Rangiora. in 2023, wastewater was discharged to land after a pipe broke, and into the adjacent Saltwater Creek, seen here to the bottom of the company's wastewater ponds. The Ashley River/Rakahuri is less than a kilometre from the storage ponds. The company was fined $12,000 in the Christchurch District Court on Wednesday. Photo: Google maps Lawyers representing Daiken said the employee who secured the pipe on the first tube was away when the other two were installed. In his absence, the company's mechanical co-ordinator contracted another company to install pump supports, and another to attend to the commissioning of the pumps. Neither installed braces. A senior representative of one of the companies told his counterpart at Daiken he was happy with the installation, and not concerned with "a little bit of movement". On the basis of that advice, and after organising for another contractor to complete the bracing the next day, Daiken's co-ordinator left the pumps running overnight. The judge described the person involved as a reliable senior employee with about 50 years experience, and classed the incident as a "one off lapse of judgement". Regional council officers at the scene after the spill recorded the creek as a "very turbid light brown" with a "strong odour of MDT effluent". Council reports and subsequent scientific analysis found the discharge resulted in "a severe and rapid drop in dissolved oxygen concentrations", with the decline in water quality persisting through most downstream river reaches for at least ten hours, and likely extended to the estuary - even with dilution - resulting in at least four to 10 hours of "severe and extensive degradation of water quality", Judge Hassan said. "Thousands of aquatic fauna would have perished, including likely the total downstream populations of some taxa including inanga, brown trout and bully" mostly by suffocation, with those left alive suffering "acute stress". Saltwater Creek is made up of a myriad of spring fed channels, and provided habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including the kana kana or pouched lamprey, long and short fin eels, inanga (whitebait), blue gill and giant bullies. Whitebait spawn in the river margins and wetlands of Saltwater Creek between autumn and winter, and surveys prior to the discharge identified declines in kākahi - fresh water mussels - which have a threat status of at risk. Other species included common smelt and black flounder. Te Aka Aka/Ashley estuary is classified as an area of significant natural value in the Regional Coastal Environmental Plan, and as an wetland of ecological and representative importance by the Department of Conservation, Judge Hassan said. The discharge coincided with the opening of the annual white-bait season. Anglers and whitebaiters were told to avoid the area, landowners and water users were warned of the risk to stock, and Te Whatu Ora was notified. The regional council's lawyers suggested a starting point of $130,000, while the company's legal counsel suggested a conviction and discharge would be appropriate, and, if not, a starting point of $130,000 was supported by precedent. On Wednesday, Judge Hassan convicted the company, and fined them $12,000. Judge Hassan found Daiken's offending to have caused a temporary severe environmental consequence, with experts predicting it would have taken 12 months for the ecology to recover, as well as cultural harm and harm to the wider community. Daiken had a commendable history of "responsible local environmental stewardship," the judge said, noting a wetland restoration project on the company's land in conjunction with the Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust. Judge Hassan said he considered the nature of the environment affected, the extent of harm inflicted, deliberateness and attitudinal factors, and found Daiken's culpability to be low. Through a restorative justice process, Daiken committed to pay $15,000 to Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust, and $15,000 to the Sefton Saltwater Creek Catchment Group, and agreed to contribute at least $20,000 towards consultants to carry out assessments and baseline exploratory work across the wider catchment. The company also proactively engaged with Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Ngāi Tuahuriri, committing to work together on enhancing the health of the creek, including providing regularly monitoring and improvement updates, Judge Hassan said. The terms of these payments were set out in an enforcement order, which requires Daiken make the payments by specified dates. After adopted a starting fine in the range in the order of $80,000, Judge Hassan discounted it for Daiken's guilty plea, good character and remorse, then accounted for the other financial commitments, resulting in the final fine of $12,000. The Rangiora company is wholly owned by Japan's Daiken Corporation, which made 210 billion yen (NZ$2 billion) in revenue and 3.9 billion yen (NZ$45m) in profit in the 2023/2024 financial year. Daiken New Zealand's revenue over the same period was NZ$185.5 million, and its profit after tax was $19.9m. Environment Canterbury compliance manager Jennifer Rochford said the fine was lower than the council expected, but it respected the decision of the court.
India Gazette
03-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
India discusses trade in shipping sector with Singapore, Piyush Goyal meets Dy PM Gan Kim Yong
New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): India and Singapore discussed the tremendous opportunities it offers in the shipping sector on Tuesday. The discussion took place between Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, who discussed investments and bilateral ties in Paris. During the meeting, Goyal underlined India's huge prospects in various sectors, especially the shipping sector. In a post on social media platform X, Goyal added, 'Met H.E. Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry @MTI_Sg. Discussed enhancing our bilateral trade & investment ties. Also, highlighted the tremendous opportunities India offers across various sectors, especially in the shipping sector.' The Union Budget has placed strong impetus on realising the huge potential of India's shipping sector. The forward-looking document aims at further enabling India's shipbuilding industry with spurring & innovative initiatives to drive investment, generate income for the economy, train and employ human capital and create value for the future of the country. The Union Budget proposes to set up the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) to support India's Maritime sector by providing financial assistance, via equity or debt securities. The initial corpus of the fund is pegged at Rs 25,000 crores, where the Government contribution will be 49 per cent. The remaining balance will be contributed by Major port authorities, other government entities, Central PSEs, Financial Institutions, as well as the private sector. This fund will directly benefit from financing for ship acquisition. It aims at boosting Indian flagged ships' share in the global cargo volume up to 20 per cent by 2047. Further, the indigenous fleet will reduce the dependability of foreign ships, improve the Balance of Payment and secure the Strategic interests of the country. By 2030, MDF is aiming at generating up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore investment in the shipping sector. Goyal commenced his three-day official visit to France on Sunday. This visit is part of his ongoing visit to France and Italy from June 1 to 5. During his engagements in France, Goyal held bilateral meetings with key French Ministers, including Eric Lombard, Minister of Economy, and Laurent Saint-Martin, French Trade Minister. These discussions are focused on strengthening the Indo-French economic partnership and exploring new avenues for enhancing trade and investment cooperation. As part of the high-level visit, a comprehensive agenda of strategic business meetings and engagements has been scheduled with the top leadership of major French companies such as Vicat, Total Energies, L'Oreal, Renault, Valeo, EDF, and ATR. The visit includes the India-France Business Round Table and the India-France CEO Forum. These platforms will foster dialogue between leading industry stakeholders from both countries. In addition, the minister will participate in the informal gathering of WTO ministers at the margins of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. He will engage with global counterparts at this crucial forum on key multilateral trade issues and present India's priorities and perspectives. During his visit, Goyal will hold a series of high-level bilateral meetings with key international partners. (ANI)
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Business Standard
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Piyush Goyal discusses opportunities in Indian shipping sector with S'pore
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday held a meeting with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and discussed ways to boost economic ties and huge opportunities in the Indian shipping sector. Goyal is here on an official visit to meet French leaders and businesses to host trade and investments between the two countries. In the last three-days, the minister has held a series of meetings with top CEOs and ministers, including International Energy Agency ED Fatih Birol, Nigeria's trade minister Jumoke Oduwole, French minister of economy and finance Eric Lombard, automotive supplier company Valeo Group CEO Christophe Perilat, and L'Oreal Groupe CEO Nicolas Hieronimus and highlighted huge investment opportunities in India. Goyal, in a post on X, said that he held a meeting with Gan Kim Yong, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry. Met H.E. Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry @MTI_Sg. Discussed enhancing our bilateral trade & investment ties. Also, Highlighted the tremendous opportunities India offers across various sectors especially in the shipping… — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) June 3, 2025 "Discussed enhancing our bilateral trade & investment ties. Also, highlighted the tremendous opportunities India offers across various sectors, especially in the shipping sector," he said. Discussions on the shipping sector assume significance as India is key to promote growth in this segment, as it will help boost trade and cut transportation costs for businesses. Indian exporters faced several challenges during the Red Sea crisis, with freight rates surging sharply due to high charges imposed by foreign shipping lines. The Union Budget has placed strong impetus to realise the huge potential of India's shipping sector. The Budget proposed to set up the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) to support India's Maritime sector by providing financial assistance, via equity or debt securities. This fund will directly benefit financing for ship acquisition. It aims at boosting Indian flagged ships' share in the global cargo volume up to 20 per cent by 2047. Further, the indigenous fleet will reduce the dependability of foreign ships, improve the Balance of Payment and secure the Strategic interests of the country. By 2030, MDF is aiming at generating up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore investment in the shipping sector.
