Calysseo’s plant in Chongqing City, China, is now operational and will produce 20,000 metric tons of FeedKind aquafeed annually.
Calysseo is a joint venture between animal feed additives firm Adisseo and protein innovator Calysta, announced in February 2020. FeedKind is a non-animal protein source that Menlo Park, California, U.S.A.-based Calysta developed using a gas fermentation process involving a naturally occurring bacteria. Adisseo is a subsidiary of chemicals conglomerate China National BlueStar, which is owned by the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation Limited (also known as ChinaChem).
“This is a significant milestone as we move towards more-sustainable forms of making food,” Adisseo CEO Jean-Marc Dublanc said. “Calysseo and FeedKind offer a world first, a newly available sustainable, nutritious, non-GMO protein that offers significant health benefits over other feed ingredients, such as improved gut health and improved immune response.”
A second phase of construction at the plant will increase the plant’s capacity further, Dublanc said. Calysseo, said Dublanc, would “provide Chinese customers with a reliable, domestically available supply of protein that meets their specific needs, produced in China for China.”
China is the world’s largest aquafeed market, and the venture is aiming to supply aquaculture ventures throughout China and more broadly across Asia, which collectively accounts for more than 70 percent of the world’s aquafeed market. Trials of FeedKind has shown it is an effective replacement for animal-based fishmeal for several marine species popular in commercial aquaculture.
Alternative feeds could prove a boon in a Chinese market currently in turmoil, with feed producers lifting prices to cope with rising input costs. A key domestic producer, Guangdong Yuehai Feed Group, announced in late June it expects to raise prices further. It saw its first quarter revenues rise 29 percent to CNY 982 million (USD 147.3 million, EUR 137.4 million) and its sales by volume rise 20 percent to 1.39 million tons, in what is normally the low end of the Chinese aquaculture season. Yuehai said growing local demand for “specialized feeds” for high-value species like grouper, shrimp, and perch has driven its sales spike.
Photo courtesy of Calysseo
