Ahmet Sagun and Torben Svejgaarda. (Photo Credit: BioMar)
DENMARK
Wednesday, August 06, 2014, 07:10 (GMT + 9)
A joint venture final agreement was signed by Danish-based fish feed supplier BioMar and the aquaculture firm Sagun Group in Aarhus, Denmark.
This agreement, signed by BioMar's CEO Torben Svejgaarda and the owner of the Turkish firm, Ahmet Sagun, sets the creation of a feed company and a feed plant near Izmir in the south west of Turkey, which will enter operation towards the end of 2015
This enterprise will contribute for Turkish fish farmers to be able to purchase feed from other BioMar factories in a few months.
“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,” BioMar release states.
Apart from serving Turkey, the second largest aquaculture market in Europe, the BioMar-Sagun Joint-Venture feed company is intended to export sales to some of the neighbouring countries, which will strengthen BioMar's position in the Eastern Mediterranean area considerably.
“Turkey is one of the leading aquaculture nations in Europe. It still has a tremendous growth potential with excellent natural conditions for fish farming, a growing domestic fish consumption as well as good access to export markets for both fish and fish feed. We are extremely pleased to enter this agreement with the Sagun Group. The Sagun Group is a solid company with a long history and an excellent network in Turkey and internationally. This will facilitate the market access for the new Joint-Venture factory,” stressed BioMar CEO.
For his part, Sagun Group’s owner was equally pleased with the agreement and stressed that the partnership with BioMar is perfect for his group.
“The know-how of BioMar within areas like fish feed development, sourcing, and feed manufacturing will benefit both us and other fish farmers in Turkey. BioMar is the leading supplier of high performance feed to sea bass, sea bream, and trout in Europe, and we are proud to enter into a collaboration agreement with BioMar on equal terms. We believe this Joint-Venture will help to develop and strengthen the whole aquaculture sector in Turkey,” he stated.
In collaboration with one of the leading Turkish fish farmers, BioMar recently performed bench mark 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.
The annual Turkish aquaculture production has grown to around 200.000 tonnes of fish in recent years and has become a major supplier of fish species like sea bass, sea bream, and trout to the European market. In order for the Turkish aquaculture industry to remain competitive there is a growing need for new more efficient, sustainable, and environmental friendly diets and production methods.
The Sagun Group consists of five companies operating eight production facilities across Turkey. Its main lines of business are aquaculture, fish processing, exports and imports.