Guayaquil, Ecuador.- Ecuador is a leading shrimp farming nation and one of the world’s leading shrimp producers with an increasing export trade to many key markets, including the United States, Asia and Europe. To support this growth, Skretting Ecuador is delighted to announce that plans are underway to construct a new state-of-the-art feed production plant. The USD 65 million facility, which will have an annual capacity of 470,000 tonnes of feed at the end of the construction, is located at Duran-Ecuador.
The 3.5 hectares plant will be constructed in carefully planned phases – incorporating the latest technological and environmental advancements – that will gradually scale up Skretting Ecuador’s shrimp feed production. The first phase of this construction will be finished within the first-half of 2018, with full completion scheduled by 2019.
The facility will ensure the company can continue to meet the fast-growing demand in both Ecuador and Peru for premium-quality shrimp feeds.
“We were the first company to provide Ecuador with an aquaculture-specific feed plant. Alongside this industry commitment, Skretting has also benefitted from more than 25 years of health and nutrition research and development and is working closely with many of the country’s shrimp farmers, which has given us invaluable local insight into the market’s particular needs and ambitions. The new plant and the subsequent increase in our overall feed capacity is not only an exciting new investment in Skretting Ecuador’s history, it also comes at the ideal time for the country’s booming shrimp farming industry, which continues to capitalise on the unprecedented demand for high-quality, responsibly produced shrimp products,” says Carlos Miranda, General Manager of Skretting Ecuador.
Miranda continues, “Farmed shrimp is Ecuador’s second largest non-oil export and plays a vital role in the country´s economy. The increasing professionalism of the industry is mirrored by the steady rise in its demand for higher quality feeds and the introduction of new, automated feeding system technologies that Skretting is promoting in Ecuador and its export markets. Indeed we are seeing more and more shrimp farmers stepping away from the standard feeds that are available to enjoy the production benefits gained from aligning high-specification nutrition with precise feed management procedures.”
Skretting’s global research unit, Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC), has analysed countless aspects of shrimp feed management, with a strong emphasis on establishing the best nutrient composition of its feeds as well as to confirm the optimal number of feed occasions. This is done in close cooperation with Skretting Ecuador. In controlling both feed quality and feed intake, Skretting has detailed evidence verifying that it is possible to reduce the feed conversion ratio while delivering improved growth and increased survival rates.
As a further extension of its commitment to shrimp farmers in Ecuador, Skretting continues to work with its customers to demonstrate the importance of feed quality and correct feeding in the first stages of the life cycle, and how to optimise growth based on the genetics of their shrimp stocks.
