The European Union will develop the aquaculture sector by launching a new aquaculture development project in Myanmar, official media reported Saturday.
The new project worth 22.4 million U.S. dollars is slated to start soon, said the Global New Light of Myanmar.
EU wished to help Myanmar develop its aquaculture sector and enhance its ability to provide exports to Europe, EU Ambassador to Myanmar Roland Kobia said.
An EU expert is currently in Myanmar conducting a study on the country’s shrimp and fish farming operations.
EU grants Myanmar access to the EU’s generalized system of preferences, allowing the country to send unlimited exports, including fishery products to the EU.
Since then, EU has become an important destination for Myanmar’ s marine products.
According to official statistics, between 1991 and 2013, the area of aquaculture cultivation increased from 12,225 to 180,614 hectares, while production rose from 6,397 to 944,809 metric tons.
The sector employed around 130,000 farm workers in 2014.
2015 Xinhua News Agency