São Paulo – The African countries post US$ 4.4 billion in annual revenues from fishery exports, according to a document released at the 8th African Development Forum, which started this Tuesday (23rd) and will continue until Thursday (25th), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and whose main theme is exploration of natural resources for growth.
The survey covers data since 1985 and includes products such as fish and seafood. According to the document, released by the African news agency Panapress, the sector in Africa accounts for 20% of all agricultural exports, and is an important source of income.
Worldwide demand for sea products is rising steadily, at an annual average of 30% in the last few years, higher than other agribusiness products such as rice, whose demand was up 5%. According to the document, these are important items to food security, and annual global consumption is approximately 150 million tonnes.
In Africa, however, fish consumption equals half the world average, which is 16 kilograms per person per year. This type of product, however, is widely consumed in some African countries, such as Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and some regions in South Africa. The minimum consumption advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 12 kilograms per person per year.
The 8th African Development Forum opened last Monday (22nd) in the evening. It is a biannual meeting of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Africa, and aims to discuss strategies for the development of the continent.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
