The bulk of the feed production will be for tilapia, but the company – which employs close to 100 people in Egypt – is also the only one in the area able to produce feed for sea bass and sea bream too. High quality raw materials – such as soy, fishmeal, fish oil, vegetable oils, corn and sunflower – are used in the diets.
“Our subsidiary, Aller Aqua Egypt, has since its foundation experienced massive growth i sales of our environmentally friendly fish feed on the Egyptian market. Therefore, we decided to construct an additional production line, which we are now ready to put into service,” explains Henrik Halken, Chairman of Aller Aqua Egypt.
“We established ourselves in the country in 2011 and have since worked hard at building a strong organisation and modern production facilities. When we started out in Egypt the fish farmers used a great deal of pelletized feed, and to this day, a large part of the market still do. We have converted many clients to our extruded feeds, which have a higher digestibility, more sustainable and give better economic results with less environmental impact,” he adds.
Aller Aqua currently employs 90-100 people in Egypt, which is the world’s second largest producer of tilapia, harvesting over 900,000 tonnes a year. However, running a business in Egypt has its challenges – in 2016 the country’s currency was devalued by 60% overnight, and in 2011 the country went through a revolution in connection with the Arab Spring.
Despite this, the Danish firm continues to expand its activities on the African continent, and this year will invest $10 million in a new factory in Zambia, which is due to open this autumn.
Last month the company won an award for the “Best product for aquaculture in the Middle East” at an exhibition in Dubai for the 2nd year running and Aller Aqua is now exporting feeds to the Middle East, including the UAE.
Image (by Aller Aqua Group), shows from left: Hussien Mansour (CEO, Aller Aqua Egypt), Adel Mansour (board member, Aller Aqua Egypt), Henrik Halken (Chairman, Aller Aqua Egypt and Group Vice President, Aller Aqua Group), and Carsten Jørgensen (Chairman, Aller Aqua Egypt and Group Vice President, Aller Aqua Group) at the official opening.
