Kats, the Netherlands-based yellowtail producer The Kingfish Company N.V. has landed a placement with European retailer Conad, which will see its Aquaculture Stewardship Council- and Best Aquaculture Practices-certified fish made available in stores throughout Italy with immediate effect.
In a filing with the Oslo Stock Exchange, The Kingfish Company said the contract “marks a strategic partnership for The Kingfish Company with Conad, which is the Italian leader in the retail sector, reporting 15 percent market share in 2020.”
“Selected for quality and taste, the Ricciola Kingfish product is the first of the Seriola lalandi species to be sold by Conad,” it said.
In Italy, the Ricciola Kingfish will be sold under Conad’s own brand, “Percorso Qualità.”
The Kingfish Company set a new production record in the third-quarter of this year, with 338 metric tons (MT) of production growth, an increase of 26 percent over the previous record achieved in the second-quarter of this year. It recently upped its currently installed capacity guidance from 1,250 MT to 1,500 MT per year. The farm's productivity reached 0.68 kilograms per cubic meter per day, an increase of 10 percent from the previous quarter, as its new system capacity has matured.
Meanwhile, compared to Q3 2020, the company's sales grew 70 percent in revenue to EUR 2.8 million (USD 3.3 million) and 54 percent in whole-fish equivalent (WFE) tonnage to 232 MT. In the last quarter, it achieved a record average sales price of EUR 12.20 (USD 14.23) per kilogram whole-fish equivalent (WFE) on overall sales, an increase of 4 percent on Q2 2021 and 11 percent over Q3 2020.
The achieved sales price of large fish averaged at EUR 13.70 (USD 15.98) per kilogram WFE and small fish at EUR 10.60 (USD 12.36) per kilogram WFE.
Expansion of the producer’s Kingfish Zeeland recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) facility in the Netherlands is underway, with the capacity expected to reach 3,500 MT in the second half of 2022.
In the United States, the company said its quest to obtain full permission to construct an 8,500-MT capacity land-based aqua-farm in the state of Maine is progressing as planned, with production start scheduled for second half of 2023.
Photo courtesy of The Kingfish Company
