INDUSTRY NEWS
Biomin's newly appointed head of its global aquaculture operations, Edward Manchester, sees Asia as a market with high potential for growth. "Within Asia there's no market that has no growth opportunity", he says.
Biomin's Edward Manchester:
There's huge potential in Asian aquaculture
Biomin's newly appointed head of its global aquaculture operations sees the whole of Asia as a market whose potential for growth is high.
Edward Manchester, who previously held the position of Biomin regional director for Southeast Asia, said during an interview with eFeedLink on April 27 at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Aquaculture 201y in Surabaya, Indonesia, that he was excited to take on his new job which, for him, would entail "aligning our aquaculture business strategy". His appointment took effect on April 22.
Manchester sees Asia as that part of the world with the biggest market potential. "It's growing very fast year-on-year in terms of people getting into the aquaculture business", he says. "Within Asia there's no market that has no growth opportunity. Vietnam is a key market, so are Thailand and Indonesia. India has a very big market share, as well as China. We've made a good progress in the Philippines in terms of market share, and Myanmar as well, which has a lot good opportunities".
Even in Europe and Latin America, Biomin is still getting growth, according to Manchester. "So on a global level we still make progress".
Manchester aims to better serve the company's customers through effective knowledge transfer. He stressed the need for communication among different regions, countries and geographical locations, or sharing knowledge on a global level.
He himself is looking to establish wider communication networks with customers and personnel within the company's aquaculture division.
With regards to new product tests, he puts much importance to the role that the research facility in Vietnam takes in bringing commercial relevance and solution to the market at a faster time. "We've got a very good research facility in Vietnam, and it can recommend products before we bring them into the commercial market".
Manchester graduated in aquaculture management in the early 1990s. He spent 12 years dealing with specialty aquaculture and another six years managing aquaculture hatcheries in Europe.
While Manchester sees his new role in Biomin as exciting, so does he see the future of aquabusiness similarly exciting.
'WELL ORGANISED'
Asia-Pacific Aquaculture 2016 a 'success'
The four-day Asia-Pacific Aquaculture 2016 opened to a huge crowd of exhibitors and visitors in Surabaya, Indonesia, on April 26, graced by the presence of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong.
Oral presentations totalled some 400 covering all topics related to aquaculture from aquaponics and biotechnology to genetics, nutrition and wastage utilisation. In addition, there were 250 poster presentations. The sessions, which also covered different species, lured both the academics and the industry people. "We think the academic people can learn from the industry and vice versa", said MarioStael, assistant director of APA 2016 during the second day of the trade show.
Stael also said that the Asia-Pacific Aquaculture provided a platform for people in the industry and the academic people to network with each other not only inside Indonesia but also those from different countries.
Stael told eFeedLink that the industry show this year attracted 160 exhibitors that occupied 230 booths filling Surabaya's pretty Grand City Convention Center, which is connected to a huge mall also named Grand City. Exhibitors included such big names in the industry as Biomin, Nutriad, Tyson Foods, Evonik, Rabobank, INVE and MSD.
He said they decided to hold APA 2016 in Surabaya because it is in the heart of Indonesia's aquaculture industry. "Besides, it has a lot of international flights and a good convention center".
Peter Coutteau, Nutriad's business unit manager for aquaculture, said APA 2016 was "very successful", adding it was very well organised.
'GROUNBREAKING'
China to export 4-Star BAP tilapia to US
Four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) tilapia from China will soon be available to US consumers.
Imported by The Fishin' Company, the Chinese tilapia will be delivered to a number of retail outlets across the country.
The four-star BAP-stamped tilapia are sourced from farms that source their fingerlings and feed from two hatcheries and one feed mill that got BAP certification late last year.
"This is a groundbreaking day for tilapia. We are ecstatic to be able to deliver this totally comprehensive benchmark of food safety, traceability and sustainability to the retail arena, and applaud our supply chain for their partnership in this endeavor," said Manish Kumar, CEO of The Fishin' Company. "We must all strive to make four-star BAP tilapia the norm, not the exception. This journey is just beginning, and we will continue to work passionately with GAA (Global Aquaculture Alliance) to bring this goal to fruition."
Saying that the four-star BAP certification is the highest level available and not paralleled by any other aquaculture certification programme, Peter Redmond, GAA's vice president for market development, stressed: "To achieve four-star BAP is a demonstration of true commitment to making a difference, real change on the water".
Cobia invasion of California feared
Cobia that escaped from an aquaculture farm off the coast of Ecuador are heading northward and may reach Southern California, which could disturb biodiversity, a marine biologist from the University of California Santa Barbara said.
According to Milton Love, chances are 50-50 that these escapees will reproduce and make their way up to California. "The idea is intellectually interesting and vaguely horrifying at the same time," he said. "The disturbance of biodiversity could be a major issue".
Several months ago, tens of thousands of cobia, a species of fish farmed as a high-quality food source, escaped from an aquaculture facility off the coast of Ecuador. Almost mature, the fish are making their way north at the rate of about 200 miles per month and already have been sighted near the Panamanian coast, 600 miles from their watery caged home.
"This is the first time that Southern California waters potentially could have a large and voracious non-native species invade," said Love, author of "Certainly More Than You Want to Know about the Fishes of the Pacific Coast" and other ichthyological tomes.
"What effect that will have on the native fishes, no one knows," he added. "It might not have any observable effects or it might have considerable ones. A possible scenario is for these fish to become well-established and start chomping down on native species the way Pac-Man slurps down pac-dots. For instance, Southern California's rock crab fishery could be affected if a lot of these animals show up and start eating crabs at an alarming rate".
According to Love, if cobia reach Southern California, they will likely favor drifting kelp mats, oil platforms, or piers.
"You might expect to see cobia as summer migrants like yellowtail," he said. "They seem to be able to compete well with other fish in the vicinity and are generalists as far as what they feed on. Here, they would be in competition with yellowtail, bonito, or even with reef fishes like kelp bass."
Love asked both recreational and commercial anglers from Baja California to Point Conception to let him know if they happen to catch cobia. The dimensions of the fish, its weight and the longitude and latitude of where the fish was caught could help scientists chart the species' progress. Information and photos can be sent to milton.love@lifesci.ucsb.edu.
Evonik launches new aquaculture feed additive
Evonik has launched in the Asia-Pacific region its latest product--AQUAVI® Met-Met, a dipeptide of two DL-methionine molecules used as an aquaculture feed additive, during a press conference in Indonesia.
AQUAVI® Met-Met is the first peptide specially developed for the aqua industry as it has low water solubility and therefore the leaching of the feed nutrients can be minimised.
This is especially important for aqua feeds as shrimp and prawns are bottom feeders with different feeding habits and digestive systems; feed pellets and extrudates must be stable in the water to ensure the dipeptide breaks down and methionine becomes available for protein synthesis at exactly the right time.
"With AQUAVI® Met-Met, we're extending our range of feed amino acids for animal nutrition to include another specialty with high value for our customers. This further strengthens our position as a market and technology leader," said Dr Reiner Beste, chairman of the Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH board of management.
"We're offering a cost-efficient and sustainable solution also for shrimp and crustacean farming," Dr Emmanuel Auer, head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik, said during the launching on April 29. "Asia-Pacific, as the home of aquaculture, has the largest population in the world. With the (rising) demand for seafood, we can see the pressure on aquaculture to increase productivity in this region and this appears to us to be vitally important".
In 2015, no less than half of the fish, crustaceans and shellfish consumed globally originated from aquaculture. Fishmeal, being part of the feed as a protein source, is a significant cost factor for farmers. Supplementation with amino acids allows significant reduction of the proportion of fishmeal in feeds, as Evonik has already demonstrated for fish farming. In addition, Evonik contributes to improved sustainability and conservation of biodiversity.
As feeding trials in many countries have shown, AQUAVI® Met-Met is more than twice as efficient as DL- methionine. This increases the efficiency and sustainability of shrimp farming.
AQUAVI® Met-Met has already been registered as a feed additive in many countries, with more to follow. The new methionine source will initially be available for shrimp and crustaceans but its efficiency is currently being tested for other species.
Nutriad appoints 2 new aqua managers
Nutriad announced the expansion of its regional aqua teams with the appointments of Tkangairulappan Gnanamani as aquaculture manager for South Asia, and Bruno Urach as sales manager for Northeast Brazil.
"Regional aquaculture specialists are an integral part of our strategy to increase our footprint in the key aquaculture markets around the world. Within Asia, India has dramatically increased its aquaculture production in the past years, particularly of white shrimp", Dr Peter Coutteau, Nutriad's business unit director for aquaculture, said. "Brazil continues to be an important aqua country in South America, with interesting growth potential in freshwater fish such as tilapia and local species. At the same time, the sustainability of the industry is challenged in both India as well as Brazil by disease outbreaks and scarcity of marine ingredients for aqua feeds, two areas where Nutriad offers specialised solutions and services".
Allen Wu, regional manager for aquaculture (Asia-Pacific), commented: "Besides shrimp, important volumes of freshwater fish are farmed in India and Bangladesh, which places among the main aquaculture regions worldwide. The local expertise of Gnanamani (upper photo) in fish and shrimp aquaculture in India, and extensive knowledge of the local farming conditions perfectly complements the Nutriad aqua team in Asia-Pacific".
"Having worked over 20 years in fish and shrimp aquaculture in India, supporting feed mills and farms, I see a great potential in the specialty programmes offered by Nutriad to improve feed cost-efficiency and prevent disease using natural products," Gnanamani said. "My position with Nutriad will allow me to apply my knowledge and experience towards solutions that help farmers and feed millers deal with day-to-day performance and health challenges in aquaculture."
Bruno Urach (lower photo) has 13 years of experience in the aquaculture industry in Brazil where he worked in various positions with fish and shrimp producers in the northeastern part of the country.
New chair for Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation
The Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO), a salmon farming industry representative organisation in Scotland, has appointed Anne MacColl as its chair. She succeeds Prof. Phil Thomas, who decided to step down after eight successful years.
The SSPO plays a central role in representing salmon farming on political, regulatory, media and technical issues in Scotland, UK, EU and internationally.
MaColl was formerly chief executive of Scottish Development International (SDI), the international economic development agency for Scotland, which helps Scottish business overseas and attracts inward investment.
More recently, MaColl worked with the University of Stirling as associate director within the Research & Enterprise team, with a focus on international business development, aquaculture, innovation and entrepreneurship.
"During my years at SDI, I was always aware that salmon and whisky are iconic products which instantly suggest Scotland and its high-quality products, whether you are in the Far East, Europe or America," MaColl said. "My recent work with Stirling University which includes the Institute of Aquaculture gave me great insights into the industry and its highly specialised operations. When the opportunity arose to become chair of the SSPO, which has helped farmed salmon become Scotland's number one food export, I was delighted to become involved. I hope I can bring some of my international trade and investment experience to further the industry's development".
MOU SIGNED
Thailand's private sector, gov't boost aquaculture
Thailand's private sector and concerned government agencies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in support of the government's public-private collaboration policy on mobilising modern agricultural development in aquaculture, seafood giant Thai Union said.
Through this initiative, the private sector (Thai Union Group PCL, Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thai Frozen Foods Association, Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, Wales & Co. Universe Limited, and 12 cooperatives) will provide knowledge on cultivation, marketing and distribution to support aquaculture farmers in shrimp and fish productions.
Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union Group PCL, and chairman of the Aquatic Animal Group (Modern Agricultural Development Working Group) commented: "This public-private policy is one where the farmers are genuine benefactors. Meanwhile, the business sector is the mechanism which will connect the government and people. In this way, the private sector is contributing to the development of the aquatic animal group and hopes to see an efficient and effective effort made by all concerned parties to help fish and shrimp farmers boost their production and profit".
The project will be implemented into two phases. First, the technology transfer on hatchery and marketing promotion will last until the end of this year. The second phase will see the establishment of a breeding development centre, which will become an aquaculture development hub. This aims to increase the value and competitiveness of Thai aquatic animals and involves further collaboration with the Department of Fisheries with regards to location and budgeting.
The private sector in this working group will provide aquaculture farmers with technology transfer, knowledge, marketing insight, as well as distribution channel support.
Meanwhile, the public sector (including the Cooperative Promotion Department, Department of Fisheries, Fish Marketing Organisation and the Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives of Thailand) will be responsible for promoting the formation of cooperatives to improve hatchery and production efficiency and for arranging business matching between cooperatives and aquatic animal companies. The collaboration is focused on increasing income and improving farmers' quality of life, while also working to boost aquaculture capacity and quality, which would positively impact farmers nationwide.
ALLTECH SURVEY
China world's No. 1 aqua feed producer
China was the No. 1 aqua feed producer in the world last year, with 17.3 million tonnes at an average cost per finisher diet of US$850, according to the Alltech 2016 Aquaculture Feed Survey. Vietnam and Norway followed with 2.8 and 1.789 million tonnes, respectively; however, the average finisher diets were much higher in cost, with Vietnam at $1,333 and Norway at $1,100.
The most expensive finisher diets originated from the Asia-Pacific region, with Korea at $1,800 and Japan at $1,700. Nearly 50% of survey responses indicated their region's aqua finisher diets were more than $1,000 on average.
"Essentially, it comes down to imported raw materials," explained Aidan Connolly, Alltech's chief innovation officer and vice president of corporate accounts. "What is produced locally is often in a protected marketplace regulated by government tariffs. The high feed prices in this region, in particular Japan, are reflected in other species as well, such as swine and poultry."
Shrimp accounted for 21% of aqua feed production worldwide, with 82% coming from Asia (India at 66%, Thailand at 42% and Indonesia at 33%). Salmon feed production represented 11% of total aqua feed production. At 52%, Europe was the No. 1 player in this species sector.
Other top species in terms of feed production include: Carp (China at 62%), catfish (US at 40%, Vietnam at 36% and Bangladesh at 35%), and trout (Peru at 74%).
Brazil, which finished eighth in the aqua feed survey, fed more than 25 different species of fish with its 0.940 million tonnes in 2015. Deep-bodied Amazonian breeds, pirapitinga, tambaqui and pacu, constitute most of the Brazilian fish feed production.
"We found that in Brazil, a major portion of feed production was not allocated to the typical species produced by many other countries," said Connolly. "It turns out that over 40 percent of Brazil's feed production is allocated to a variety of local, Amazonian species, such as pacu, tambaqui, tambacu and tambatinga".
According to Connolly, aquaculture is the fastest-growing segment of the feed industry, citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation that fish consumption now exceeds beef consumption per capita, and farmed fish now exceed wild-caught.
Connolly noted that when the 2016 Global Feed Survey was published, they received more questions regarding the aquaculture sector than any other species, which was a "further indication that aqua generates a lot of interest. No one else has investigated the aquaculture industry in this way and we thought it was time to fulfil that need".
Alltech's overall 2016 Global Feed Survey estimated international feed tonnage is now at 995.6 million metric tonnes, a 2% increase over last year and a 14 percent increase since Alltech first published Global Feed Survey results in 2011. The analysis of five-year trends showed growth predominantly from the pig, poultry and aqua feed sectors.
MOVE OPPOSED
Saudi Arabia bans Pakistani farmed shrimp
Saudi Arabia has banned farmed shrimp imports from Pakistan due to reported outbreak of white spot disease, particularly in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, both in Punjab province.
The Saudi Embassy in Islamabad informed the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry in a letter in April that the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) had ordered inspectors for imported food to "stop fresh, chilled or frozen shrimp consignments from Pakistan until stabilisation of health conditions".
Exempted from the ban are headless and peeled products, provided they have undergone physical and laboratory examination.
The Pakistani Marine Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, however, was reported to have disputed the listing of Pakistan by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) under the index of countries whose shrimp had been infected with the white spot disease, stressing that the country produces mainly wild marine shrimp and not farmed shrimp.
The fisheries agency asked the Ministry of Commerce to help in trying to delist Pakistan from the OIE list, describing the country's inclusion as a "misunderstanding".
"White spot disease only occurs in cultured shrimp as the white spot virus does not infect wild caught shrimp", it explained.
Last year Pakistan exported 189 metric tonnes of shrimp worth $2.175 million to Saudi Arabia, according to the Marine Fisheries Department.
NOT CONSIDERABLE, THOUGH
April 16 quake damaged Ecuador shrimp farms
The powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador on the night of April 16 damaged several thousand hectares of shrimp farms, according to farm operators.
In their initial assessments sent by email to Shrimp News International, the shrimp farmers said the damage wrought by the tremor, which killed at least 660, was not considerable.
"We don't expect a major disruption to the shrimp farming industry", said Sandro Coglitore, CEO of shrimp farmer and processor Omarsa S.A.
He said the affected provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas host around 30,000 hectares of shrimp ponds and that some farms lost their crops when their water control structures collapsed. "Other farms lost their pumping stations, so they will have to do emergency harvests", he added.
Coglitore said the farms might lose 10-15% of their production for one or two cycles.
In Pedernales canton in Manabi,more than 6,500 hectares of shrimp ponds were estimated to have been damaged "to some degree", according to José Antonio Camposano, executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture. Pedernales accounts for almost 10% of Ecuador's total shrimp output.
John Birkett, a shrimp farm manager, said: "Apart from the collapse of a few walls, the spilling of some larval tanks and the cracking of old buildings, there's not been much damage to shrimp farms and hatcheries".
Ecuador is one of the top shrimp producers in the world and is currently the third-largest shrimp exporter to the US. The industry, however, has been hampered by disease outbreaks.
UP 8.5% IN FIRST 2 MONTHS
2016 looks rosy for Vietnam shrimp exports
After an estimated 25% decline (in terms of value) in 2015, shrimp exports in the first two months of 2016 showed positive growth, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, or Vasep. In January 2016, shrimp exports earned US$227.4 million, up 10.2% from the same month in 2015.
Export earnings in February 2016 reached $151 million, or an increase of 6.1%. For the two months, shrimp exports totalled $378.4 million, up 8.5% over January-February 2015.
Shrimp exports to the US and China-Hong Kong posted a significant increase of over 36%, while those to other major markets registered slight decreases (the EU -1.8%; Japan -2.4%; Korea -0.6%; Canada -17.3%; and Asean -2.5%).
During the two-month period, the US retained its position as the biggest shrimp importer of Vietnamese shrimp, while China-Hong Kong was the second-biggest from being No. 4 (purchasing $64.8 million worth of shrimp, or 17.1% of total exports). Others among the Top 5 importers were Japan, the EU and South Korea.
Whiteleg shrimp accounted for 56.1% of the total exports, black tiger shrimp 35.8% and other marine shrimp 8.1%. The proportion of whiteleg shrimp and other marine shrimp decreased (in 2015, they accouned for 59.4% and 30.7%, respectively), while the black tiger shrimp increased (9.9%) compared with the same period in 2015.
