Skretting in Australian expansion move
NUTRECO’S aquaculture division Skretting has announced plans to expand its production capacity in Australia through the purchase of Ridley’s extrusion facility in Westbury, Tasmania.
The company said the move was a continuation of Skretting’s long-term commitment to the Australian and New Zealand aquaculture industries.
“We have been producing aquafeed from our Cambridge facility in Tasmania since the 1990s, and today proudly employ over 90 staff,” said Melissa Abbott, General Manager of Skretting Australia.
She added: “I am pleased that we are expanding our manufacturing capacity to enable us to continue our long-term commitment to clients and partners across the broader Australian and New Zealand aquaculture industries. I am very proud of what our team has, and continues to achieve, and the role that we play in supporting local communities.
It’s an exciting day for the Skretting team,.”
Nutreco CEO Rob Koremans said: “Skretting Australia is an important part of our global business.This is a strategically important investment for us in a growing and leading industry, and we intend to continue to partner with local leaders for many years to come.”
The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which is expected to conclude this year.
Based in Stavanger, Norway, Skretting says it is the global leader in providing innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions for the aquaculture industry, with production facilities in 19 countries on five continents. Producing high quality feeds from hatching to harvest, its total annual production volume of feed is more than two million tonnes.
NIGERIA’S beleaguered fish farming sector is set to receive a lifeline, thanks to an aid and co-investment package funded by US Aid and a non-governmental organisation, Partners For Development.
Fish farmers in the country have seen rising costs and falling prices for their product throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The aid package, a coinvestment partnership between the USAIDfunded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub and global organisation Partners for Development, will leverage $1.1m (£0.77m) of private funds in addition to a grant from the Trade Hub of $500,000 (just under £352,000) to build the industry’s resilience.
Key project goals include improving production, helping sales rebound, and increasing employment in the aquaculture sector, including for women and young people in the fish supply chain.
The co-investment partnership will strengthen the capacity of eight fish farmers associations and 600 fish farmers to enable them to use improved aquaculture and business management practices to increase their productivity by as much as 25%.
The project also aims to boost the capacities of 15 hatcheries and 15 fish feed distributors that supply the farmers with fingerlings and fish feed, respectively. Hatcheries and fish feed distributors are expected to improve the quality of their inputs and increase production capacity by 25%.
John Marrkand, Executive Director, Partners for Development, said:“We are looking forward to not only strengthening the capacity of fish farmers, hatcheries, fish feed distributors, and key officials, but to also providing loans to expand and improve the performance of those working in the aquaculture value chain.”
THE algae bloom attack which struck Chile in March cost Salmones Camanchaca, one of the country’s largest salmon farming companies, at least $12m (£8.52m). The company, publishing its 2021 first quarter results, also revealed that the loss in biomass was around 3,700 metric tonnes.
Salmones Camanchaca SA is a vertically integrated salmon producer engaged in breeding, egg production, recirculating hatcheries for Atlantic salmon and pass-through or lake hatcheries for Pacific salmon and trout.
The company admitted the attack hit the business hard, adding that its harvest estimate for this year is now down from between 55,000 and 57,000 metric tonnes to between 41,000 and 44,000 tonnes. Two principal locations were affected: Reñihué Fjord, where there are three operational sites and cost the business 2.4m fish and $4.5m (£3.19m), and Comau Fjord, which has four sites and cost 3.2m fish and led to a financial impact of $7.5m (£5.32m).
However, Camanchaca says that despite “extraordinary events” the company will maintain its long-term cost targets, while the double digit decline in Chilean supply this year is expected to lift sale prices, which are now above pre-pandemic levels.
Revenue for the quarter fell by just over 17% to US $70m ($49.7m), while the impact from Covid-19 meant that both sales volumes and sales prices were 11% lower compared to a year ago. The better news is that prices are now 19% higher than in the final quarter of last year.
The company announced an EBIT or operating loss of $11.37m (£8.07m) against an operating EBIT or profit of $11.43m (£8.11m) in Q1 2020.
Camanchaca’s two main markets for Atlantic salmon are the United States, where it sells around half of its production, and Mexico which accounts for 26% of sales. The company said that following the opening of a new sales operation in Mexico, there had been a significant increase to that country.