Skretting opened a state-of-the-art production facility for shrimp and fish feed in Mangrol, Surat. The newly set up high-end facility is part of Skretting’s commitment towards the Indian aquaculture sector and its strategy to further develop in Asia.
The facility was inaugurated by Sanjeev Balyan, Hon’ble Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Michiel van Erkel, Agriculture Counsellor for India and Sri Lanka, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was also present at the opening. Spread over an area of 20,000 m2 and built with an investment of EUR 18.5 million, the facility will cater to both shrimp and fish cultures. Shrimp will include white tiger and black tiger, while fish will include Indian major carps and high-value fish like snakehead, seabass, among others.
The Mangrol facility has three production lines with a production capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes per year. It can produce both extruded/floating and pelleted/sinking feed as per the requirement of the species and customers. There is also adequate land and infrastructure available to increase the production capacity in the future.
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of our state-of-the-art production facility at Mangrol in Surat. We have been meeting the needs of shrimp hatcheries, nurseries, and farmers since 2018 in India, and supporting customers across feed-farm-health with our high-quality feed and services. The new facility enables us to contribute our bit to the prestigious Atmanirbhar Bharat – Make in India initiative, while simultaneously improving the efficiencies for a closer connection with our customers. We will cater to the domestic market and also customers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Middle East,” said Saurabh Shekhar, general manager – Nutreco South Asia.
“The factory is key to achieving our purpose of Feeding the Future in growth territories of Asia and India. We already have plants in Vietnam, Japan, China, and Indonesia to strengthen our presence in Asia and establishing a state-of-the-art production facility at Mangrol, Surat reinforces our commitment to South Asia and Indian markets. Construction of the factory started in September 2020, and the work was completed in just over two years despite the various challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. The facility has also generated local employment opportunities with 120 employees. This is just the beginning in our journey to gain a stronger foothold here,” said Jurriën Zandbergen, managing director, Nutreco Asia.
Nutreco has both organic and inorganic growth plans to expand its footprints in South Asia, actively looking for companies that can support the purpose of Feeding the Future via NuFrontiers, its strategic innovation and investment department. Through NuFrontiers, Nutreco has invested strategically in start-ups globally, including Internet of Things (IoT) enterprises such as Eruvaka and Stellapps.
“We strongly believe that innovation and digitalization are the future for sustainable development in aquaculture. That is why we invest EUR 20 million annually in innovation looking for nutritional solutions to address the main challenges in the different regions in which we operate. At the same time, our digitally enabled solutions like AquaSim and Skretting 360+ have been responsible for improving production and transforming the aquaculture industry in countries like Ecuador. With this facility and our stronger footprints, we only aim to replicate some of these success stories in India as well,” said Therese Log Bergjord, CEO Skretting.
