Middle East meeting looks at aquafeeds

THE US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) organised its first Regional Aqua Investment Conference in Dubai last month.

More than 80 participants from 10 different countries attended the conference, with representatives from major aquaculture producers and aquaculture feed millers in Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Lebanon, and Jordan.

The activity started with one-on-one meetings in Egypt, followed by a two-day seminar in Dubai, followed by two days of one-on-one meetings in Turkey.

Information pro- vided by the speakers included: an update of USSEC’s global aquaculture programmes; starting aquafeed production with small-scale, scalable extrusion plants; an overview of aquafeed production; cost effective feed formulations in challenging economic times; and managing the feed business around formulation.

New advances in aqua feed extrusion technologies; investment opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa’s aquaculture industry; financing and funding options by banks and investment funds for aquaculture projects; and aquacul- ture developments in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia were also discussed.

USSEC has a longterm relationship with Insta-Pro International, Wenger Manufacturing Inc, and Aqua-Food Technologies, Inc, where all parties cooperate to develop the international markets of soybeans and soybean products.

G Ramesh of Wenger said: ‘The aquaculture industry in this region has shown significant signs of growth.

‘This conference provided a forum to educate participants in the benefits of soy inclusion in these extruded feeds.’