Madagascar, renowned for its unique wildlife and vanilla production, has a new claim to fame: The nation is Africa’s first and only source of caviar.
The business is an unlikely project in a country beset by grinding poverty, but its owners are determined that luxury foods can play a part in improving Madagascar’s economy.
“A lot of people laughed at us,” Rova Caviar head Delphyne Dabezies said, admitting that the enterprise was a big gamble.
Photo: AFP
“But we took the time to prove that this is serious. Madagascar caviar is now the only caviar produced in Africa and the Indian Ocean,” Dabezies added.
The island off the coast of Mozambique is still only a minor player in terms of global production, which is dominated by China, Italy and France — although producers in the Caspian Sea still boast the most prized caviar, from Beluga sturgeon.
Last year, Mozambique produced a tonne of caviar in a world market of about 340 tonnes a year.
The plan is the brainchild of Dabezies, husband Christophe and business partner Alexandre Guerrier — all of them French entrepreneurs based in Madagascar.
“At the time, our business in luxury ready-to-wear clothes had become sustainable, and we were seeking to diversify our activities,” Dabezies said. “We are all gourmands, so this idea served our purposes. Madagascar has an exceptional environment that produces rare crops such as cocoa, vanilla, organic shrimp and lychees — we thought we could add caviar.”
The sturgeon that produce unfertilized caviar roe are kept in Lake Mantasoa, perched at an altitude of 1,400m.
Training the staff has been a major part of the project.
“Caviar professionals have come from abroad,” said Ianja Rajaobelina, assistant director of the production plant, which employs 300 people. “I had to learn everything on the job.”
“You have to take care of the spawn and avoid giving them too much or not enough food, to have the lowest possible mortality rate,” staff member Say Sahemsa said.
Sturgeon are imported from Russia in the form of fertilized eggs, which hatch in a special nursery facility in Mantasoa.
When they reach 7 grams, they are moved to freshwater ponds, and then into large cages in the lake when they weigh 500 grams.
At 1.5kg, only the females are kept on until their eggs are ready.
The process demands patience and skill.
The first imported eggs arrived in Mantasoa in 2013, and the first grams of caviar did not go on sale until June 26, 2017, Madagascar’s independence day.
Expert taster Georges Heriniaina Andrianjatovo taps each box with a small hammer to detect any air bubbles, which are removed as soon as possible. Colour, taste and smell are all important.
“A good caviar rolls in the mouth and exudes an odor of fresh butter,” he said.
The precious output is sold to high-end shops and restaurants on the island and to neighbors Mauritius, the Seychelles and Reunion.
Last year, Rova Caviar’s stock sold out in just a few weeks.
Among those impressed is prominent Madagascan chef Lalaina Ravelomanana.
“I prefer to serve it in its natural state, with salmon or oysters on ice,” he said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was