Belief in Turkey delivers for Skretting

Ten years ago Skretting saw an opportunity in an emerging aquaculture industry in Turkey. It set up a business to import and distribute fish feeds. The business grew and in 2009 Skretting built a feed plant in Gulluk to serve these markets. The first feeds were delivered in September 2009 and by June 2010 the plant was running at full capacity, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Skretting.

Two key factors are contributing to the success: the quality of the extruded feed coming from this ultra-modern plant and the growing and increasingly professional aquaculture industry in Turkey. Locally farmed fish now account for 25% of fish sales.

Turkey with a population of almost 73 million has the largest national economy in Central and Eastern Europe and is showing strong growth. "Considering the economic clouds of 2008-2009, the Turkish economy and the performance of Skretting Turkey have both exceeded our expectations," comments Alberto Allodi, the Managing Director of Skretting in the Eastern Mediterranean region. "Nutreco certainly picked a good moment to commit to Turkey. Recruitment of the right people and the way in which the local team transformed from being purely commercially orientated to being an all round team also were important factors."

Levent Kayi, General Manager of Skretting Turkey, adds, "Inevitably we encountered challenges but the 33-strong team of Skretting Turkey responded positively and we reached full capacity in June this year. The industry welcomed the opening of the plant last year and this enthusiasm was reflected by attendance at workshops we ran in both the west and east of Turkey."

Responding to increasing demand for fresh fish, the Turkish aquaculture sector is now Europe's largest after Norway. According to the Statistical Institute of Turkey, in 2009 production of sea bass and sea bream was over 74,000 tonnes and freshwater trout was 75,000 tonnes. That means trout production is up around 10% on 2009 based on strong internal demand and exports. Most sales in Turkey are fresh trout while frozen and smoked trout do well in exports.