Australian production site will give us competitive advantage in that market: BioMar

By Jane Byrne

- Last updated on GMT

© istock/Germanovich
© istock/Germanovich

Related tags Australia

Danish fish feed group, BioMar, has flagged up its plans to build a factory in Australia in 2019, an aquaculture market it sees as having huge growth potential. 

It said it is currently shipping large volumes of feed to Australian producers from its factories in Chile and Scotland.

However, the Danish group said the time is right to establish a facility in that market now.

BioMar is currently in talks with local state government officials in its efforts to get approval for the build. However, the company would not disclose the location, the likely completion date nor whether it could tap federal Australian dollars for the development.

It said the new plant would have annual capacity of 110,000 tons, and would enable the feed manufacturer to address local market needs. The facility would target producers of salmon, trout and yellow tail king fish, among other species.

“We are aiming to be close to the customers in Australia. Challenges will change by time and we aim to be agile to respond fast,” ​BioMar spokesperson, Sif Rishoej, told us. 

BioMar currently has a limited presence in the Australian and New Zealand markets. We have technical support in the area."

Its expectation is that by being locally present with commercial staff, technical expertise and production facilities that will give it a competitive advantage in a booming market: “The ambition is to support the customers by developing high performance products tailored to local farming conditions with a strong profile in regards to sustainability, feed safety and food quality.”

Ongoing expansion

The announcement around its ambitions for Australia follows a series of recent expansion initiatives by BioMar. 

Carlos_Diaz biomar
Carlos Diaz, BioMar CEO, says platform established for future growth

On the release of its annual financial results earlier this month, Carlos Diaz, BioMar CEO, said the company established a platform for future growth and profitability in 2016, with new capacity in Norway, Turkey and China:

“First of all we opened our factory in Turkey, now being directly present in the second largest market in Europe. Secondly, we planted a solid footprint in China. We started the construction of a new factory in Wuxi and acquired another in Haiwei in the south of China. Thirdly, we are progressing as planned with the construction of a new line in Karmøy as well as additional logistic investments including our new gas-driven ship in order to increase flexibility – bringing the Norwegian capacity up to 600.000 tons.

“On top of these expansions we fortified our organization making us ready for the challenges of tomorrow. One example is building a global R&D center with a strong link to the business and with own high-end trial facilities in Europe as well as America.”

BioMar was optimistic then about volume expectations in 2017​ despite the challenging market conditions.

Australian aquaculture market

Australia is a small player on the international aquaculture scene, but outgoing chair of the National Aquaculture Council (NAC) Pheroze Jungalwalla says the country is capable of punching well above its weight with a few carefully chosen strategies​.

Aquaculture production in Australia in 2014-15 reached about 85,000 tons.

However, several major developments and expansions are underway or in the final planning stages, which suggests a surge in production in the next two to five years, according to a report from The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), a co-funded partnership between the Australian Government and the fishing industry.

Its report​ noted Tasmania’s Atlantic Salmon sector production more than doubled to 48,614 tons from 2006 to 2015, and the sector has a growth strategy that targets a further doubling of production by 2030.

Atlantic Salmon remains the sector most likely to see increased growth over the coming five years, noted the publication.

The prawn sector is set to be another big mover in aquaculture in the next decade, according to the fisheries research group.

It said the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Advanced Prawn Breeding is sequencing the genome of the Black Tiger Prawn as part of efforts to advance domestication of this species and launch production on an industrial scale. 

Meanwhile, Project Sea Dragon, an initiative of the Seafarms Group, expects to begin construction next year on an industrial-scale facility in the Northern Territory, capable of producing 100,000 tonnes of Black Tiger Prawns. "The venture is scheduled to come on-line in 2019, capitalising on these projected advances in breeding,"​ said the FRDC.

The report also highlighted how expansion of prawn production is also underway in Queensland, where stringent environmental regulations related to water discharges into the Great Barrier Reef have restricted development for many years:

"Pacific Reef Fisheries, James Cook University, CSIRO and the Queensland Departure of Agriculture and Fisheries have all worked on the development of new, government-approved, water treatment options. This has been key to winning approval for Pacific Reef’s plans to expand production from 1000 to 4000 tons, with construction of new ponds to begin next year."

Moreover, as a result of other Australian government backed research initiatives, it is expected that production of Yellowtail Kingfish will double in the next five years, said the FRDC. "The aim is to establish a white fish equivalent to Atlantic Salmon in the domestic market – a position both Yellowtail Kingfish and Barramundi producers are seeking to fill."

Related topics Manufacturers Aquaculture Australia

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