The Danish firm has been servicing Latin American shrimp farmers from its factory in Costa Rica since 2016. Alimentsa currently holds a share of around 12-15% of the Ecuadorian shrimp feed market, in a country that harvests more than 450,000 tonnes of shrimp a year.
“It is our ambition to become a major player within high-end shrimp feed. With the acquisition of Alimentsa we can immediately deliver an attractive value proposition to the shrimp farmers in Latin America and we believe that we in the future - together with Alimentsa and the customers - can develop new product solutions based upon shared interest in innovation, cooperation, sustainability and performance. During our due-diligence process we have been confirmed that the acquisition will enable us to build a strong relationship towards the Latin American shrimp farmers. Alimentsa is recognized for high-end feed and a professional technical service. That is very much in line with our focus in BioMar,” explains Carlos Diaz, CEO of the BioMar Group.
BioMar estimates that the market will prove to be very attractive, with growth rates of 8-12%. Shrimp production in Ecuador is characterized by optimal conditions that allows up to three production cycles per year. Furthermore the farming densities in Ecuador are quite low compared to other markets, allowing much better and sustainable sanitary conditions.
“We foresee a solid business potential in Ecuador, but first and foremost we believe that the combination of a strong local company with recognized products and deep insights into the market, together with a global company with the size and innovation muscle as we have in BioMar Group will enable us to meet the future requirements of the market as well as the end-consumers. We are very confident in the local management and the organization,” states Diaz.
“We have during the last years expanded the business significantly. In 2016 we established production in Turkey. In 2017 we are forming a solid footprint with two factories in the Chinese market and in 2018 we have planned and announced the construction of a green field factory in Australia. Now we are taking a leap into the world of shrimp,” he adds.
