Costa Rica-based Aqua Alimentos, also known as AquaFoods, has filed for bankruptcy protective measures after receiving a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) import suspension.
In a relevant fact document submitted to Sugeval – the Superintendency of Securities of Costa Rica – the company announced it has requested the bankruptcy protection measures.
“The purpose of the application for the measures is to file a bankruptcy proceeding for the continuity of the company,” the document, which was signed by Aqua Alimentos Board Chair Erick Oechler, said.
The move comes after Aqua Alimentos, formerly known as Industrias Martec, was hit with an import alert by the U.S. FDA for its tilapia exports to the U.S. in June of this year.
According to an announcement made by Aqua Alimento, exports of fresh tilapia fillets via its Terrapez facility to the U.S. tested positive for salmonella, triggering an import alert that effectively halted the company’s exports to the U.S.
“We will be implementing actions to control expenses and costs, as well as alternative commercial actions, to reduce the impact,” former Aqua Alimentos CEO Patrick Bornhausen Roulet said at the time in a release.
The company has since managed to resume its exports to the U.S., but it had closed off the company’s main export market for two months. According to El Financiero, tilapia exports accounted for USD 2.5 million (EUR 2.3 million) a month in revenue for the company.
Since that time, the company has continued to accumulate debt, with La Nacion reporting it is in debt with financial institutions and bond investors for as much as USD 45.1 million (EUR 38.1 million). The company also reportedly had losses of USD 10 million (EUR 9.2 million) as of the end of September, La Nacion said.
The bankruptcy filing said that the company has faced “enormous uncertainty and difficulty” since the end of 2022, which has placed it in precarious financial position that requires refinancing to alleviate its debt burden and continue its activity to pay off its creditors.
“The company faces a ...
