Norway-based global leader in aquafeed and nutrition, Skretting has inaugurated its state-of-the-art aquafeed factory in Mangrol, Surat, Gujarat on India’s west coast. The new facility will further enhance its support for customers and the Indian aquaculture sector. Skretting is the global aquafeed division of Nutreco.
The facility was inaugurated by Dr Sanjeev Balyan, Hon’ble Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Michiel van Erkel, Agriculture Counsellor for India and Sri Lanka, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Dr Sanjeev Balyan congratulated the team for their achievement and welcomed the multinational as they bring the global expertise and research for Indian aquaculture development. He also sent the message to the Indian aquaculture industry about the requirement of technology usage for improving productivity and efficiency and promoting domestic consumption to continue our leading position globally.
Erkel mentioned that just last year they had celebrated 75 years of warm diplomatic relations and that business from the Netherlands finds its way to India.When Nutreco was nominated last year as the most innovative company in animal nutrition by World Finance, they had stated that they want to help farmer’s produce more, strengthen animal’ health and resilience while also looking at sustainable practices. He congratulated Skretting India for the support to Make in India initiative.
“We are thrilled to launch 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 will enable us to contribute to the prestigious Atmanirbhar Bharat – Make in India initiative, while simultaneously improving efficiencies for a closer connect with our customers. We will cater to the domestic market and also customers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Middle East,” said Dr Saurabh Shekhar, General Manager, Nutreco South Asia.
Skretting has held a leading position in Ecuador and has played a key role in the transformation of shrimp culture in the country. With a combination of products, technical services and digitally enabled solutions like AquaSim and Skretting 360+, Skretting has supported in improving efficiencies and production of the shrimp farmers. With this facility and stronger footprints, Skretting India aims to deploy the same technologies and capabilities for South Asia.
The facility is equipped to support both sustainability and feed-to-food safety measures, in line with Skretting’s Sustainability RoadMap 2025 and Nutrace. As part of sustainability measures under RoadMap 2025, the premises has systems like rainwater harvesting and effluent treatment plant, amongst others. The factory follows the 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 Mangrol facility has three production lines with a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum. It will 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.
“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. This state-of-the-art production facility reinforces our commitment to South Asia and the 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 generated local employment opportunities with 120 employees. This is just the beginning in our journey and to bring knowledge and technology as a differentiator and enabler,” said Jurrien Zandbergen, Managing Director, Nutreco, Asia.
Nutreco has both organic and inorganic growth plans to expand its footprints in South Asia and is actively looking for companies that can support its purpose of Feeding the Future via its investment arm NuFrontiers. Through NuFrontiers, Nutreco has invested strategically in startups globally, including the Internet of Things (IoT) enterprises, Eruvaka – for innovations in aquaculture and Stellapps – for improving efficiencies in the dairy value chain.
Skretting is a global leader in providing innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions and services for the aquaculture industry working closely with shrimp and fish farmers. Skretting has 30 production facilities in 18 countries on five continents and manufactures and delivers high-quality feeds from hatching to harvest for more than 60 species. The total annual production volume of feed is more than 3 million tonnes. It is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway and it employs 4,000 employees. Its team of more than 140 employees is dedicated to Innovation that works on the core competencies of nutrition, feed production and health for aquaculture.
“We strongly believe that innovation and digitalisation are the future for sustainable development in aquaculture and livestock. That is why we invest 20 million euro 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 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.
Skretting India is a subsidiary of Skretting and is headquartered in Hyderabad. It started in India in 2018, recognising the Indian sub-continent and Asia’s critical role in fulfilling the purpose of Feeding the Future. India is among the top 2 producing countries with shrimp exports and the industry is expected to grow at 8-9 per cent per annum. Skretting India’s team works closely with farmers to support their feed, farm, and health requirements. Skretting India goes beyond nutrition and feed with its Aquaspecialty range that supports pond, water, and soil management.
