How To Invest In Fish Smoking, Packaging And Distribution

The negative effect of unemployment in any economy cannot be overemphasized. A nation with high level of unemployment will have to contend with a lot of social vices. Not only this, unemployment breeds poverty and diseases. Any serious government in any country must fight unemployment to reduce social vices and create income opportunities for its people. It is against this background that all hands must be on deck to fight unemployment.

One of the ways to fight unemployment is identification and creation of investment and income opportunities for people. Fish smoking, packaging and distribution is one of the investment opportunities for Nigerians, especially for fish farmers who are desirous of diversifying and making more profits.

Fish smoking and packaging is one of the ways of preserving harvested fish to attain higher shelve life. Not only this, smoked fish are in high demand by Nigerians, especially the middle and the upper class. There is also export market for smoked fish.

The project is also a step to strengthen the informal sector that is the bedrock of any economy. Fish smoking is very lucrative and profitable. The return on investment is above 50 percent and the project can pay back itself within one year of take-off.

The project is technically feasible as all inputs (100%) are available locally. Not only this, the ease of management is not in doubt. The energy requirement is also minimal.  Social benefits identified are job and income opportunities creation, mitigation against waste, food security and improvement in dietary pattern of people.

Technical information

Fresh fishes of sizeable weight are procured from fish farmers and are brought to the smoking centre. The fishes undergo the processes of cleaning, spicing and smoking before being packed ready for distribution to consumers.  The finished products are packed in 500g and 1kg weights to cater for the diverse interest of various consumers.

To establish this project, the procedures are acquisition of site. The beauty of the project is that it can be done in the backyard. After procuring good site, acquisition of the smoking equipment follows. On acquisition of equipment, investors will identify fish farms where they can purchase the fishes on regular basis. Serious minded and genuine investors can be assisted in the establishment of this project.

Profitability

An aggressive investor can smoke up to 50 tons of fish per annum. A minimum profit of N150,000 is realisable from a ton. This translates to N7.5 million profit per annum. This is no doubt a good means of livelihood for Nigerians. Serious minded investors can be assisted in the realisation of this dream