Nutreco has invested in additional tilapia fish feed capacity in Egypt, with the opening of an extra line in its existing Egyptian plant, in the eastern part of the Nile Delta.
The investment enables Skretting, Nutreco's aqua feed business, to triple its tilapia fish feed capacity in Egypt to 150,000 tonnes. Skretting has also entered into a five year research partnership with fish research institute WorldFish to support the sustainable development of aquaculture in the region.
Egypt is the world’s second largest producer of tilapia fish. The growth of its aquaculture sector has been significant in recent years and production is expected to grow further from 1.3 million tonnes in 2014 to 2 million tonnes in 2020. Over 580,000 people are employed in aquaculture, more than in the rest of Africa combined.
The extra capacity allows Skretting to better serve the Egyptian tilapia sector with high quality fish feed, as well as technical expertise and support.
Harm de Wildt, managing director for Nutreco´s operations in EMEA said, “This investment underscores our commitment to the African market. Through the investment in extruded fish feed capacity and regional R&D, we can support more customers in increasing their efficiency and profitability. Equally important, it will accelerate the transfer of our knowledge acquired in other fish species to tilapia, thus contributing to the sustainable development of aquaculture in Egypt."
The five year R&D partnership with WorldFish to support sustainable aquaculture in Egypt and Africa will focus on tilapia nutrition and testing of new, local ingredients for fish feed. The construction of an advanced trial unit with a recirculation system is part of the partnership.
