Aquafeed company opens new feed mill in Serbia
Fish feed manufacturer Aller Aqua has opened a new production facility in the north of the Republic of Serbia.
Based in Denmark, Aller Aqua has had a business presence in the Balkan countries for a long time. The firm identified potential for further expansion of the carp feed segment in this region of southeastern Europe, just as Aller Aqua was undergoing a period of growth itself.
The firm’s latest mill is located in Secanj, which is in northern Serbia, near to the border with Romania. Petar Pejcic and Dimitrije Matic have been appointed to manage the new factory.
“The plan really fell into place,” said Hans Erik Bylling, CEO and owner of Aller Aqua “We are in a phase of rapid growth, and we are pleased to include Balkan and specifically Serbia in this growth. We see a lot of potential there.”
Of the 30 or so aquaculture species for which Aller Aqua produces feed, carp is among its core species. According to the company, carp accounts for approximately 85% of Serbian aquaculture output.
Aller Aqua Balkan’s feed mill in Secanj — Aller Aqua’s seventh production facility — is already up and running. However, plans are being drawn up for expansion. The factory will be officially inaugurated in spring 2020.
Initially, the firm will focus on the Serbian market, but exports to other markets may follow later, according to Pejcic.
Aquaculture in Serbia, Romania
Serbia’s production of freshwater fish by aquaculture in 2017 amounted to 4,152 metric tons (mt), according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This figure is well below its peak of 7,322 mt in 2010. In addition, 918 mt of other (diadromous) fish was produced in Serbia in 2017, the most recent year for which data have been published by FAO.
Diadromous fish are those that spend part of their life in freshwater, and part in seawater.
In the same year, Romanian aquaculture output amounted to 10,466 mt of freshwater fish, and 2,331 mt of diadromous species, according to the FAO.
Aller Aqua: 7 fish feed mills around the world, investment in insect protein
The story of Aller Aqua dates back to 1912, when Frederik Bylling took over the Aller Mill in Denmark. Still based in Denmark, the business is now directed by the founder’s grandson, Hans Erik Bylling.
Fish feed production began in 1963, and it became a separate business in 1996. Aller Aqua is now the third largest fish feed producer in Europe, according to the firm’s website.
Over time, Aller Aqua has expanded into other countries — including Chile in 1994, Australia (1997), Poland (2001), Ukraine (2003), Germany (2008), Egypt (2011) and Nigeria (2015). With a much higher capacity, Aller Aqua opened a new factory in Egypt in 2015.
In 2017, Aller Aqua opened a fourth factory in Ghana, a fifth in Zambia, and a sixth in Qingdao, China.
Its subsidiary in Armenia — Aller Aqua AM — was inaugurated in 2018.
A year ago, Aller Aqua announced it was working with several partners to develop Denmark’s first industrial-scale insect production. The insect meal will be used in fish feeds.
