Partners Cargill and Naturisa are teaming up with Skyvest EC Holding to expand shrimp-feed production for Ecuadorian farmers.
US-based Cargill and shrimp-farming company, Naturisa, first joined forces in 2015 with the building of a shrimp-feed manufacturing facility under the name Aquacargill del Ecuador.
Through this new joint venture with Skyvest, Cargill will take over the shrimp-feed production facility in Guayaquil, Ecuador currently owned by Skyvest subsidiary Empagran. The feed plant was built in 2018, has a production capacity of 156,000 tonnes and employs more than 200 people.
“Through this joint venture, Cargill will nearly double its production capacity, and we will improve our capacity to serve our customers and partners,” said Angel Gomez, managing director of Cargill’s aqua nutrition business in northern Latin America.
“We will invest in this facility and expand our offering of shrimp feeds under the Cargill’s Aquaxcel brand to meet increasing demand for feed among our customers,” he added.
Francisco Sola, Naturisa president, said the joint venture with Cargill had driven growth for both organisations. “We have established an excellent working relationship and we are excited to participate in this expansion to increase our production capacity of high-performance feed that will continue supporting the growth of the Ecuadorian shrimp industry,” he said.
Skyvest’s owner, Victor Ernesto Estrada Santistevan, said Cargill would bring operational expertise and knowledge of global supply chains and risk management to running the new facility. “The Cargill knowhow will improve feed quality, and their willingness to invest in the plant will bring more high-quality feed to the market,” he said.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the coming months.
