Sri Lanka and JICA Prepare Fisheries Cold Chain Project, Feasibility Study Set for November 2026 to February 2027
Sri Lanka and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are preparing a cold chain project for coastal and deep-sea fisheries, with a feasibility study planned to assess fish losses and infrastructure needs. The investment decision will be made after the study, and funding arrangements have not yet been determined.
Sri Lanka and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are preparing a cold chain project for coastal fisheries and deep-sea fisheries, aimed at reducing post-harvest losses and improving fish quality.
Under the announced arrangements, the project's feasibility study is scheduled to be carried out from November 2026 to February 2027, assessing fish losses and infrastructure needs, with the investment decision to be made after the study is completed. Project funding has not yet been confirmed.
The project is being advanced jointly by Sri Lanka and JICA and covers both coastal and deep-sea fisheries.
Compared with Sri Lanka's warm-water shrimp trade under China Customs statistical scope, in May 2023 China imported 7.26 tonnes of warm-water shrimp from Sri Lanka, with an import value of USD 59,432.0 and an average import price of USD 8,186.23 per tonne. This scope follows the customs commodity classification HS 0306.17, covering penaeid shrimps (including whiteleg shrimp, black tiger shrimp, etc.); it is a commodity classification rather than a single biological species. From 2015 to 2021 it corresponded to the four subheadings 03061711, 03061719, 03061721 and 03061729, and from 2022 onward to the two subheadings 03061730 and 03061790. The above data are customs import and export statistics, not catch volumes, aquaculture production or market spot prices.
The feasibility study window for Sri Lanka's cold chain project is November 2026 to February 2027, and both the investment decision and funding arrangements are to be determined after the study is completed.