Brunei’s leading aquaculture company Golden Corporation (GC) is looking to extend partnerships with local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by buying and supplying raw seafood which can be developed into exportable spin off products.
CEO of GC Desmond Lim, who recently hosted 11 local businesses at GC’s headquarters in Serambangun in Tutong to discuss potential link-ups, said that GC is currently supplying two tonnes of peeled blue shrimps every month, farmed organically by the company, to local manufacturers of seafood crackers or keropok.
“We look to expand this supply to more MSMEs,” said Desmond. “There are many high value spin off products that can be developed from blue shrimps, which are themselves a unique product in the region.”
GC’s annual output of organic blue shrimp, their flagship product, is in the region of 1,000 tonnes, with several plans in the pipeline to steadily increase production. The majority of the blue shrimp, branded as sashimi grade or safe enough to consume raw, is exported internationally, including China and Singapore.
GC also does sea catch, selling tuna and processing other catch into surimi – a paste commonly used for fish cakes and fish balls – with the remaining haul turned into fish and feed meal. Processing and packaging is done at their G1 and G2 sites in Serambangun.
“Businesses can also look into buying surimi paste which can be developed into an array of spin off seafood products like frozen or tinned seafood dishes other snacks like crackers and biscuits,” said Desmond.
The CEO added that GC, a foreign direct investment company who opened up its operational headquarters in Brunei, is also willing to buy raw seafood from MSMEs, whether sea catch or farmed produce.
“GC has invested significantly into our seafood processing facility, and we want to make the most of our capability by taking on raw products for processing,” said Desmond, who shared that approximately 10 per cent of their raw seafood used for processing their products are bought externally from local fishermen and farmers.
Managing Director of Brunei’s online pet store Nimanja Anderson Lim who attended the visit said he was keen on working with GC to develop pet food which could potentially be exported beyond Brunei.
“The meetup allowed us (local businesses) to take a closer look at how GC operates and see what the potential spin-offs are,” said Anderson. “For Nimanja, seeing the steady amount of sea catch, specifically tuna, that they have offers us an opportunity to see if we can work out a collaboration to come up with the first locally made brand of pet food.”
Businesses interested can get in touch with GC through email at marketing@golden-corp.com or by calling 4260080. Learn more about GC at www.golden-corp.com
