Aarhus, Denmark-headquartered aquaculture feed supplier BioMar Group expects to increase its extruded feed capacity to a total of 200,000 metric tons (MT) at its facility in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the company announced in a release – without putting a price tag to the project.
The two-phased installation will add a total of four new lines “to further support an amplified product portfolio for high-performing shrimp feed in Ecuador and follow up on strong sales figures,” the company said, adding that the investment is in preparation for introducing new advanced shrimp feed concepts, slated for market launch in 2022.
“We are planning for a new range of high-performing products, as well as new functional feeds targeting the unique farming practice and environmental parameters encountered in Ecuador,” BioMar Group Vice President of LATAM, Shrimp, and Hatchery Henrik Aarestrup said, making special mention of larger farmers in the country looking to co-design tailored product ranges.
“We have in other species for many years been designing products with specific nutritional and sustainability profiles together with farmers, retailers, and suppliers. We recently started the same type of collaboration in the shrimp sector in Ecuador, and we have a range of tools enabling us to document our impact on the planet at the same time as we optimize farming results,” he added.
Ecuador has focused in the last year to diversify its USD 4 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) a year shrimp business in order to become less dependent on the Chinese market, which was hit by severe bottlenecking and even company-wide bans as China heightened customs inspection regimes it said were related concerns over COVID-19. The Latin American country has increased exports to the United States and Europe, targeting both the traditional hotel, restaurant, and catering market – which was affected by the pandemic – and the retail segment.
The increased shrimp business has drawn the attention of more companies than just BioMar; last month, Bangkok, Thailand-based global seafood supplier Siam Canadian opened its newest office in Guayaquil, to participate more directly in farmed vannamei shrimp production, and as part of the company’s strategy to expand its footprint in South America.
For its part, the BioMar Group posted increased earnings for the second quarter of 2021, despite encountering significantly higher raw-material prices and logistics costs in the three-month period. Revenue for Q2 2021 increased over Q2 2020 by DKK 163 million (USD 25.7 million, EUR 21.9 million) to DKK 2.86 billion (USD 451.8 million, EUR 384.6 million), with 322,000 MT sold, compared with 310,000 MT in 2020.
Its earnings before interest, taxes, debt, and amortization (EBITDA) for the period was DKK 215 million (USD 34 million, EUR 28.9 million), which was DKK 7 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 941,255) less than a year previously.
Photo courtesy of BioMar
