Kiotech, a U.K.-based fish-feed additive producer listed in AIM, (Alternative Investment Market, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange) has opened a regional branch in GuangZhou, the capital of China's GuangDong province and the center of GuangDong's aquaculture industry.
Kiotech produces Aquatice, a fish-feed additive that claims to increase farmed fish appetite and therefore reduces wasted feed.
Kiotech Director Mark Nicholls reports its China office is crucial for future development, and allows Kiotech to register as the owner of Aquatice product lines and provide technical assistance to farms in the region.
China, which produces 70 percent of the world's aquaculture, is the perfect location for Kiotech's regional presence. China produces 42 million metric tons of aquaculture products a year. The company's China office will host three technicians skilled in aquaculture and commerce.
The new location also allows the company to conduct product development in the laboratory research stage and commercial trials. Kiotech is conducting several trials on commercial farms in Asia.
One six-month trial conducted at tilapia farms in Zhuhai yielded tilapia weighing 17 percent more than non-Aquatice fed tilapia. Tilapia fed Aquatice reached a market weight of 700 grams three weeks faster than non-Aquatice-fed tilapia.
Kiotech conducted similar tests on white shrimp in Southeast Thailand. At the end of a three-month period, shrimp fed with feeds containing Aquatice weighed 30 percent more than regular shrimp. The group fed with Aquatice gained 0.11 grams a day, over the normal 0.08 grams of daily weight gain.
