Turkey: BioMar joint venture sees fish feed facility come on stream

The two companies established a joint venture to build the plant and generate a high end feed platform back in August 2014.

The JV was also seen as a move that would strengthen BioMar’s position in the Eastern Mediterranean region. 

The partners said the new facility, which is located in Söke, has production capacity of 50,000 tons and will supply grower feeds for trout, sea bass and sea bream.

Other more specialized feed types in the BioMar-Sagun product portfolio, like hatchery diets and fry feeds, will be produced at other BioMar factories and distributed through BioMar-Sagun, said the Danish company.

It said BioMar-Sagun will mainly serve Turkey, but it will also start export sales to some neighboring countries.

BioMar said Turkish fish farmers will receive guidance for appropriate farm management, nutrition, and feeding strategies to develop an efficient, sustainable and profitable aquaculture sector.

Local presence said to be key​

The Danish group noted previously that Turkey is already served by more than 15 feed companies, but almost all are only local players with limited resources for research and product development.

“Local presence is one of the keys to the Turkish feed market, but many Turkish fish farmers have long expressed the need for introducing new and better feed concepts allowing farmers to obtain better and more stable production results.​

“In collaboration with one of the leading Turkish fish farmers, BioMar, performed benchmark trials with some of the main Turkish feed brands, and these trials underlined the need for introducing more efficient and sustainable diets in Turkish aquaculture. ​

“Further, the combination of BioMar's know-how in feed development and manufacturing with Sagun's strong network within the Turkish aquaculture sector will give the new feed company a very strong platform to start from,”​ reported BioMar in 2014.

Market overview 

Turkey has a dynamic marine aquaculture industry located primarily on the Aegean Sea coast and employing some 8,000 people, according to data from EuroFish, an organization that assists in the development of fisheries and aquaculture in Central and Eastern.

Marine fish farming increased from 88,600 tons in 2010 to 100,900 tons in 2012, while the number of vertically integrated groups operating their own hatcheries, fish feed plants, fish farms, and processing and packaging facilities is increasing constantly, noted EuroFish.

The main species farmed in 2014 in Turkey were sea bass (74,653 tons) and sea bream (41,873 tons), with modest production of sea-raised trout (4,812 tons) on Black Sea sites.

There is also a large and growing production of freshwater rainbow trout (107,983 tons) in the interior of the country, reported EuroFish.

Turkey is ranked first in the Mediterranean for sea bass farming and second, behind Greece, for sea bream. It has a 25% market share of the sea bass and sea bream trade in Europe, added that organization.

Conflicts between the marine aquaculture sector and other users of the coast, such as the tourism industry, were reduced significantly about eight years ago when fish farms were pushed offshore, it said.

This move contributed to a growth in production, which is projected to increase further to 500,000 tons, including trout, in 2023 with the help of freshwater cage production and the recent construction of dams.

Well-developed research infrastructure comprising a network of faculties, departments, and laboratories at universities with links to the industry provide a wealth of knowhow as well as a supply of educated employees which will also promote the growth of the sector.

And new sectors such as mussel and shrimp farming, which the government is keen to develop, will also play a role in the overall expansion in production.

Certification to standards such as Global GAP, Friend of the Sea and ISO 14000 are becoming widespread, claimed EuroFish.