KAROO Catch recently held a ground-breaking ceremony ahead of the construction of its new agro-processing factory in the industrial area of Graaff-Reinet.
The new factory will enable them to increase their current production of 20 tons of processed fish products per month to 120 tons.
With the increase in production, they will now be able to supply in the demand across South Africa. They currently only distribute their products in the Eastern Cape.
“It represents just another step in the commercialisation of this community business. We are very excited about what the future holds,” said Ken Light, managing director of Karoo Catch.
Dr Beyers Naude Municipality Mayor Deon de Vos was at the ground-breaking ceremony. De Vos, along with Reverend Clement Madeley, turned the soil, and represented the community’s commitment to the project.
Karoo Catch plans to commission the factory early in 2019. It will start processing 120 tons of fish per month in the first few months, and this will gradually increase to 180 tons per month.
The factory will employ in excess of 150 people from the community.
Karoo Catch is an innovative solution to reducing the reliance on the rapidly declining wild fish stock. Among their aims is sustainable skills development and the creation of employment opportunities – especially for rural women.
Among the products they produce containing fish are braai wors with a beef flavour, fish wors with a pork and lemon flavour and fish burgers with a beef flavour. They also recently expanded into a range catering for children, namely Kidz Fish Burgers with a beef flavour and Kidz Fish Wors with a Pork and Lemon Flavour.