Acquaculture company BioMar has entered talks with Australian state government officials to gain approval to build a new feed factory.
While the Danish-based company has not yet disclosed the location of the planned build, if approved, it would be completed by 2019.
BioMar expects the greenfield factory to have a yearly capacity of 110,000 metric tonnes. According to the company, it has been delivering an increasing volume of feed to the Australian market from its factories in Chile and Scotland.
With the new factory, BioMar aims to be “locally agile”, utilising its global product development and technical experience with species such as salmon, trout and yellow tail king fish. The company believes that being locally present with commercial staff, technical expertise and production facilities will lead to a competitive advantage in the market.
It intends to develop products tailored to local farming conditions, with a strong profile in regard to sustainability, feed safety and food quality.
“The world around us is changing, and there is an increasing need for combining sustainability and efficiency,” said BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz.
“We clearly see that end-consumers are changing buying patterns towards high quality products with a responsible profile. We firmly believe that working closely together with the value chain can prepare the industry to take a lead in the global food sustainability agenda.”
The announcement of BioMar’s Australian factory comes not long after the company opened a factory in Turkey earlier this year, with the company also intending to open a factory in China later in the year.