Soul Fish Aquicultura is seeking an initial investment of USD 15.25 million (EUR 12.7 million) to support the greenfield construction of a lake-based farm in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state that could eventually produce up to 36,000 metric tons (MT) of tilapia, primarily for export to the United States.
The complex – to be situated on Brazil’s Lago do Manso and built around a net-pen system with hybrid ownership between Soul Fish and independent farmers relying on Soul Fish technology and services – would be built in two stages, with the first stage projected to produce an estimated 8,800 MT of tilapia fillets by 2027. Soul Fish’s plan calls for the construction of a hatchery and breeding center, a processing plant, a pier and barges, and a four-megawatt solar park.
The Cuiabá, Brazil-based company is seeking either a proposal on equity or convertible debt, or a combination of those two financing options, according to a project overview provided to SeafoodSource by Sou Fish Director Manoel Padilha de Cunha Jr.
The initial investment figure “will enable us to reach production ... with all the certifications included and ready for export, as it will be integrated production: fry, fattening, processing, and feed manufacture,” Padilha de Cunha Jr. told SeafoodSource. “We are very interested in exporting our products to the U.S.A., a major consumer of tilapia.”
The investment packet said the initial investment would have a 3.5-year payback, while a larger, USD 75.5 million (EUR 62.9 million) investment would allow for the production of 36,000 MT of tilapia and a three-year payback period. Their prospectus calls for gross sales of BRL 244 million (USD 11.9 million, EUR 9.9 million) within four years, along with the creation of around 800 direct jobs in Mato Grosso state.
“Brazil, one of the largest producers of soy and animal protein with relevent presence in international trade, still offers a modest global supply of fish. This outlook is expected to change given recent investmentsin large-sclae production which benefit from the country’s territorial extent and abundance of underutilized water bodies and reservoirs,” the prospectus said.
The Soul Fish executive management group is comprised of Padilha de Cunha Jr.; Boby Previtta, a former vice president of trading at Morgan Stanley; Paula Carvalho, the former director of planning and controllership at Mato Grosso-based Delicious Fish; and Rodrigo de Souza Santos, the founder and executive director of RSA Financial Solutions.
Photo courtesy of Soul Fish Aquicultura
