Aller Aqua Group by Christiansfeld in Denmark is one of Europe’s largest producers of environmentally friendly aquafeed. As reported in this newsletter (3/24/16) the company has taken further measures in their proactive growth strategy by building a new factory in Zambia.
One year ago Aller Aqua’s new factory in Egypt was inaugurated, and the company’s decision to build another factory on the African continent plays a large part in its growth strategy.
Aller Aqua has partnered with Yalelo Limited as a key client. Yalelo has grown quickly to become one of the world’s leading tilapia aquaculture firms. Alongside the construction of Aller Aqua’s Zambian fish feed factory, Yalelo has commenced an expansion project to increase production to 20,000-30,000 tons of tilapia within the next few years.
The new company and factory will be called Aller Aqua Zambia, and will be the largest and most modern of its kind in Africa. It will have a capacity of 50,000 tons of feed per year, and the investment is approximately US$10 million, explains Henrik Halken, Group Vice President, who is responsible for the company’s activities on the African continent.
Both companies see great prospects in the collaboration: it will ensure Yalelo access to the best feed on the market – and thus enable the company’s continued growth.
To Aller Aqua Group, Yalelo’s offtake provides commercial security. This enables a larger initial investment in building a world-class fish feed factory from inception.
The aquafeed factory gives Aller Aqua a good basis for expansion in Zambia, a country which aims to be self-sufficient with farmed fish – but also able to export to neighboring countries such as: Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania and Congo.
“The factory will be situated near the town Siavonga, on the shore of Lake Kariba, and is expected to be ready mid-2017, provided that the final commitments and permits are given from various authorities and institutions as expected” says Henrik Halken.
Demand for affordable protein is growing quickly in Africa, which is one of the world’s fastest growing regions by both population and income. Aquaculture is expected to play a significant role in African food security and lakes such as Kariba, Victoria and Volta offer high potential.
“With the great potential in Africa it is important that we are present. Aller Aqua needs to make the most of the momentum we have created over the last few years. We have experienced significant growth in Egypt in 2015 and created two new sales subsidiaries in both Kenya and Nigeria, both of which contribute positively to the company’s growth. The feed for these two markets comes from our European factories and contribute positively here. In Zambia and the region we plan to replicate our experience of supporting smallholder fish farmers through training in the use of more efficient commercial fish feeds.
With the new factory in Zambia Aller Aqua Group will consolidate its position as the largest producer of environmentally friendly, extruded fish feed in Africa” states Henrik Halken.
Since Aller Aqua began producing fish feed 50 years ago, it has experienced constant growth. Besides the factory in Christiansfeld, a factory was built in Poland in 2001, in Germany in 2007 and the new factory in Egypt was inaugurated in 2015.
Hans-Erik Bylling, majority shareholder and CEO in Aller Aqua Group explained that the company today exports fish feed for approximately 50 countries worldwide.
“We recently launched a new growth strategy in Aller Aqua, which should form the basis of further growth in the coming years – investments in new factories in growing markets are a big part of this strategy.
Therefore we have started excavation works for a new factory in Qingdao, China, which should be ready late 2016.
We are busy at the moment, but excited about the positive development in Aller Aqua and that we, together with our dedicated employees, can take advantage of our great potential.”
