Benchmark Genetics will supply Norway’s Proximar Seafood AS with salmon ova for its new land-based farming facility being constructed at the foot of Japan's iconic Mt. Fuji.
The agreement is for three years, with automatic renewal, with the first eggs scheduled to be delivered in 12 months from Benchmark’s facility in Iceland.
Proximar’s first delivery of salmon to the Japanese market is expected in 2024.
“Proximar is on its way into the Japanese market, where quality is especially important,” Proximar CEO Joachim Nielsen said. “With the increasing number of land-based facilities, ensuring quality eggs is a key issue. Our agreement with Benchmark Genetics ensures us stable deliveries throughout the year.”
Together with Daiwa House, its construction partner, Proximar began construction on its Japan farm in March. In May, Proximar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Marubeni Corporation on a potential sales and marketing agreement. Marubeni is one of the largest general trading companies in Japan, with 136 branches and offices in 68 countries and regions.
The Proximar agreement is the second supply contract that Benchmark Genetics has secured in as many months. It signed a five-year agreement with Ecofisk in June to provide salmon eggs for a new land-based facility, to be located in Espevik in Tysvær municipality, Norway. That delivery agreement will begin in the first quarter of 2023 and is expected to result in the delivery of more than 25 million Atlantic salmon eggs annually when the project is fully developed. Benchmark Genetics will also contribute technical expertise in the project phase and when the smolt and grow-out facility comes into operation.
Photo courtesy of Proximar
