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Olam eyes fish farming in Africa to tap growing middle class

Bloomberg Published on Wed, Mar 28, 2018 / 1:14 PM GMT+8

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(Mar 28): Olam International, one of the world’s largest food traders, is considering expanding into fish farming in Africa to tap demand from a growing and more affluent population.

The Singapore-based firm is conducting a feasibility study on farming fish in West Africa, likely in Nigeria, the continent’s most populated country, Chief Operating Officer Shekhar Anantharaman said. Olam could potentially start the venture with partner and shareholder Mitsubishi Corp., which owns fish businesses, he said.

“We believe that there’s opportunity for fish farming in Africa,” Anantharaman said in an interview in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital. “Today a lot of the fish is imported. We think there’s a lot of potential to grow it and make it far more easily available and at cheaper cost to the general population.”