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Success Story

Photo: USAID/WATH

USAID helped the Senegalese fish processing company La Pirogue Bleu prepare for and participate in a major trade show. Thanks to the increase in orders from the show, the firm is expanding its factory and doubling its workforce.

“We have already begun to expand our factory and we plan to double our current number of employees as well as increase the amount of processing so that we can offer a product that is ‘ready to eat’. We are ready for the American market,” said Mohamed Abd-Ali of La Pirogue Bleu.

Six months after attending the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels with assistance from USAID, Senegalese exporters have reported more than $6 million in sales from the show. Exports of fresh and frozen, whole and filleted products have been shipped from Senegal to the United States, Canada, and Europe, with more shipments expected.

A USAID program in Dakar trains West African exporters to meet international standards and expectations of quality and volume, and creates linkages to overseas markets. It focuses on exporting value-added products and underexploited species in support of a more sustainable fishing sector in West Africa. Project staff trained exporters on critical issues such as quality control standards, market research and market linkages, including assistance with shipping samples to potential buyers.

At the trade show, which is so large that companies can rely on it for an entire year’s worth of sales, the seafood processors united under a banner and in a booth space which were provided by the project. The project also designed and printed promotional materials with additional company and contact information for visitors. Post-show assistance included registering the seafood producers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a requirement for exporting to the United States.

Mohamed Abd-Ali, general manager of seafood processor La Pirogue Bleu in Senegal, said that the orders resulting from the show have galvanized new investment and a new direction at the company. “We have already begun to expand our factory and we plan to double our current number of employees as well as increase the amount of processing so that we can offer a product that is ‘ready to eat’. We are ready for the American market,” he said.

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