Managing director Ch’ng Chin Hooi said under the fresh business strategy, the company would now source its prawns directly from farmers rather than via middlemen.
“Direct sourcing would help us cut production costs by at least five per cent . This also helps us control the quality of prawns we are buying,” he told StarBiz.
Ch’ng recently increased his stake in Oceanpac to 98 per cent from 48 per cent. The company was now gradually increasing its daily frozen prawn output, he said.
“We are producing about 12,000kg of frozen prawns daily. By the end of this year, we hope to increase the figure to 15,000kg per day,” he said, adding that the company had just started to venture into the production of frozen fish fillets, using tilapia and other fish.
The frozen prawns and fish are exported to the US, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Oceanpac is now targeting South Korea.
"The increase in our daily production, lowering of production costs, and the new fish fillet products would boost the company revenue to RM100mil in 2008, from RM70mil this year," said Ch’ng. "In 2008, our annual output will increase to 5,000 tonnes from 3,000 tonnes presently. We are projecting a 20% growth in our turnover for the next three years."
Headquartered in Seberang Prai, Oceanpac has two production facilities in Parit Buntar. Ch'ng, who is also Malaysian Frozen Foods Processors Association chairman, said the prospects of the frozen seafood industry in the country looked bright.
"Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the government is raising the production of prawns gradually to 120,000 tonnes per annum by 2010 from 60,000 tonnes now. More land in the country is now being allocated for prawn farming. This would ensure that frozen seafood producers in the country would not run short of supply," he said.
Source: TheStar online