Peru''s Copeinca is to diversify into fish for human consumption, the company has said in a round of media interviews, reports Michael Mackey.
This represents a fairly sharp turn of strategy for the 24 year-old company. Until now a fishmeal and fish oil company, Copeinca is the second largest of its type in Peru and the third largest in the world. The company operates 65 vessels (with a capacity of 21,935m3) or 10.4% of the industry and 12 plants, the company's website said.
Following a year of consolidation after a round of acquisitions in 2007, Copeinca will, this year, enter the new market tranche via ventures in the canned, chilled and aquaculture sectors.
This will not be done by a further round of purchases but by reorganising the acquired companies. For example it does not need to purchase any new boats, as it acquired 15 refrigeration ships when it bought Fish Protein in 2007. The same buying spree saw it purchase chilling plants at Chimbote and Paita and an aquaculture and canning business at Tumbes, in Per's North.
One of the biggest and prioritised parts of this reorganisation will be the listing of the new human consumption company.
"This project is at the stage of being structured, though the chilling and canning plants are almost ready to operate," Samuel Dyer Coriat, general manager of Copeinca told one newspaper.
Mr Dyer is also confident that the financial crisis will not delay these plans. Not only has Peru so far been relatively insulated from the credit crunch and its aftermath but the company's products will always be needed. "We are talking about basic foodstuffs in many cases, and we don't believe there will be an end to their consumption."
In another sign of confidence Mr Dyer also hinted that the company's ambitions do not stop here. Peru, he said, offers opportunities for greater consolidation "and although we haven't foreseen it, we are always attentive to the opportunities which present themselves. To go foreign is another alternative."
