A new aquafeed mill with an annual production capacity of 50,000 metric tons (MT) is scheduled to be put into operation in late 2020 in the Astrakhan region in Russia’s south.
Russian Fish Feeds will invest RUB 1.3 billion (USD 17.6 million, EUR 16.3 million) into the project, the press service of the Lotus special economic zone, where the factory is being built, said in a statement. Building inside the zone will provide the investor financial benefits in the form of discounted tax rates and tax exemptions.
The company will focus on fish feed for sturgeon, salmon, sea bass, sea bream, and trout. Flexibility in the facility’s production methods will allow for changing proportions and composition of ingredients to better meet customers’ needs and secure the best price-quality ratio, according to the release.
Additionally, a novel production process will make it possible to significantly enhance protein digestibility of the feed, allowing customers to increase profitability and the quality of their end products, the company said. The feed will be based on soy-bean protein, rapeseed and cotton oilseed residues, as well as feather meal and meat and bone waste from poultry processing as a main ingredient. The company claims its technology increases the rate of protein digestibility of its feed to between 86 and 92 percent.
Russian Fish Feeds said it will attempt to use 100 percent domestic oilseed residues, if possible.
Fish feed production is on the rise in Russia, as the segment is seeking to keep up with the development of the nation’s aquaculture industry, which has seen rapid growth in the past few years. Currently, Russia’s aqua-farmers are dependent on imported feeds, and as a result, Russian producers are seeing an opportunity in supplying the industry with cheaper analogs, which are of the same or even better quality, according to the Russian government’s Strategy of Development of the Russian Fishery Industry document.
The document envisages that RUB 118 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.5 billion) will be invested into fish feed production in the country through 2030, and that output will increase to 525,000 MT a year.
Photo courtesy of Vovez/Shutterstock
