Skretting is betting on the growth of East African aquaculture The venture with the Unga Group , which is based in Kenya and is the largest feed miller in East Africa, will focus on fish feed development in the region and is due to involve significant investments in production capacity to meet the anticipated rise in market demand.
The JV will produce fish feeds intended for East African markets at Unga’s existing extruded fish feed plant in Nairobi and market them under the Skretting & Fugo brands. Meanwhile Nutreco has set up a second JV with Unga in Uganda to produce feeds for terrestrial livestock, which will be sold under a range of Trouw Nutrition and Unga brands.
The population in East Africa is expected to double, reaching 340 million people by 2050. With the increase in population, the demand for high quality protein from the aquaculture and agriculture sectors is predicted to rise accordingly.
Nutreco’s CEO, Rob Koremans, said in a press release: “I am thrilled to partner with Unga Farm Care and Unga Millers, companies that, like Nutreco, have extensive knowledge within the animal nutrition and aquaculture industries. Together, Nutreco and Unga Group will tap into each other’s extensive expertise to continue meeting the growing demand for high quality protein.”
Unga’s CEO, Nick Hutchinson, added: “Nutreco and Unga have worked together as customer and supplier for many years and we are trusted partners to one another. We are therefore thrilled to bring our partnership to the next level. Together, we will advance our offerings to our customers as we aim to supply high-quality feed supported by world class technical know-how to our aquaculture and agriculture livestock customers.”