BioMar's shrimp market expansion continues with new trial facility in Ecuador

Aquaculture feed firm BioMar is constructing a new trial facility for shrimp based in Ecuador, the company announced on 27 November. 

The development comes two months after BioMar acquired a 70 percent stake in Ecuadorian feed manufacturer Alimentsa, and plays into BioMar’s unfolding growth strategy to make high-performing diets and functional feeds for shrimp an important staple in its portfolio, according to company CEO Carlos Diaz. 

“This is a part of our overall expansion strategy," Diaz said. “We basically take the required decisions to build a strong, competitive, and innovative foothold in the shrimp market. The investment in Ecuador is a tangible outcome of a much greater plan for innovation in BioMar. The global [research and development] budget will increase by roughly 20 percent in 2018, which comes on top of a dedicated global set-up for R&D implemented over the last years.” 

Building an additional research and development facility will help accommodate BioMar’s intention to expand into several new territories and explore product solutions for new species, Biomar Global R&D Director Havard Jorgensen said.

“We are moving into several new geographies and new species, and this requires an increase in R&D activities,"Jorgensen said. "Our global set-up based in Trondheim is complemented with our ATC (Aquaculture Technology Centre) innovation network, which includes ATC Patagonia in Chile, ATC Nordic with facilities in Denmark and Norway as well as now our ATC in Ecuador. Here we will mainly focus on shrimp, strengthening our set-up and allowing a faster take to market."

As one of the prominent shrimp farming countries in the world, Ecuador offers great potential to BioMar in terms of product development, Diaz said.

“We experience that the most innovative feed solutions are generated when local market potential is being met with solid scientific methodology, boosted by in-depth knowledge from aquaculture hotspot across the globe. Ecuador has developed into one of the most important shrimp producing nations and has in many aspects taken alternative roads. This makes it a very interesting hub for product development,” Diaz said.  

BioMar has been a steady supplier of shrimp diet solutions from Costa Rica and shrimp larval feeds from France to customers worldwide. The company is looking forward to launching its shrimp range in China over the next few months, it said. 

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