Takesho invests US$8m in shrimp byproducts processing facility

Takesho invests US$8m in shrimp byproducts processing facility

Employees process shrimp products at a firm located in Can Tho City’s Tra Noc Industrial Zone - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

CAN THO – Japanese food producer Takesho Food and Ingredients Inc. has invested US$8 million in a shrimp byproducts processing plant that will produce spices to serve the food industry, it was announced during a meeting in Can Tho City on December 25.

Nguyen Kim Ngoc, head of the Trade Promotion Division at Can Tho Promotion Agency, said that the municipal government’s leader had granted the investment certificate for the Takesho plant project.

Earlier, the food producer had worked with the city’s government on promoting investment in the project. Takesho and Can Tho University had collaborated, and successfully studied ways of converting shrimp heads and shells into spices.

Toshinao Tanaka, chairman and managing director of Takesho, confirmed the collaboration with the university at a working session with the municipal government, and added that Takesho and the university were undertaking a study on byproducts of tra fish and on rice bran.

According to Le Viet Dung, vice president of Can Tho University, it had been wasteful to not process local agro and seafood byproducts.

Takesho delivered machinery worth over US$1 million to the school to serve research activities. In particular, a process to extract the protein in shrimp heads to make spices and food materials reached completion earlier than expected, said Dung.

Further, the plant project reportedly will cover two hectares of land in the city’s Tra Noc 2 Industrial Zone and will be built in January next year.

By Trung Chanh - Thesaigontimes.vn