Surat: Skretting, the Norway-based global leader in aqua feed and nutrition, is set to inaugurate its state-of-the-art production facility for shrimp and fish feed in Mangrol, Surat. A division of The Netherlands-based Nutreco, a leader in animal and aqua nutrition, the newly set up high-end facility allows it to enhance further support for its customers and the Indian aquaculture sector. Nutreco is the subsidiary of SHV Holdings N.V., a family-owned Dutch multinational.
Skretting has led the global position in Salmon and Shrimp with 125 years of expertise and an innovation-driven approach. It has manufacturing footprints in 18 countries and produces 3 million MT of feed annually for more than 60 species from hatching to harvest.
The facility will be inaugurated by Dr. Sanjeev Balyan, Hon’ble Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India and Mr. Michiel van Erkel, Agriculture Counsellor for India and Sri Lanka, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on February 13, 2023. Spread over an area of 20,000 sq mt and built with an investment of Euro18.5 million (Rs. 165 crores approximately), the facility will cater to shrimp and fish cultures. The shrimp cultures will include white tiger and black tiger, while fish cultures will include Indian major carp and high-value fish like snakehead, seabass, etc.
The Mangrol facility has three production lines with a production capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes per annum. 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 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 customers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and The Middle East,” said Dr. Saurabh Shekhar, General Manager – of Nutreco South Asia.
The facility is equipped to support both sustainability and feed-to-food safety measures, in line with our Sustainability RoadMap 2025 and Nutrace. As part of their sustainability measures under the Nuterra program, the premise has systems like rainwater harvesting and effluent treatment plant, amongst others. The factory also follows its global feed-to-food safety and quality program Nutrace for end-to-end tracking and traceability with certified supplier assessments and checks at each critical point.
“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 establish a state-of-the-art production facility at Mangrol, Surat, reinforcing 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 Mr. 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 its purpose of Feeding the Future via NuFrontiers, the investment arm of Nutreco. Through NuFrontiers, they have invested strategically in start-ups globally, including the Internet of Things (IoT) enterprises, Eruvaka – for innovations in aquaculture and Stellapps – for improving efficiencies in the dairy value chain.
“We strongly believe innovation and digitalization are the future for sustainable development in aquaculture and livestock. That is why we invest EUR 20 million annually on innovation looking for next-gen technologies like bacteriophages that can provide solutions to critical health challenges of aquaculture. 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 Ms. Therese Log Bergjord, CEO Skretting.
