Interview

António Isidoro is CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Soja de Portugal. His career began in banking before he became executive director for all Soja de Portugal subsidiaries.

with António Isidoro

AQUAFEED: Would you tell us about your background and how it has led you to the feed industry?

AI: I have a degree in management with a postgraduate degree in advanced management in business internationalization ISEG/CEGE. My professional career of more than 20 years began in the banking sector, during which I performed several duties within the Montepio bank company.

Currently, I’m CEO & chairman of the Executive Board of Soja de Portugal - a more than 75-year-old company operating in agribusiness - and other subsidiaries, including Sorgal (the owner of the compound feeds commercial brands such as Aquasoja – aquaculture compound feed, Sojagado – poultry farming and livestock breeding, Sorgal Pet Food – pet food for dogs and cats), Avicasal and Savinor (production, slaughter, butchering and commercialization of poultry meat) and Savinor UTS (collection, treatment and recovery of animal co-products).

I also participate in the Board of Directors of IACA (Portuguese Association of Industrial Feed Compounders), executing the functions of executive director, and also on the Board of FORUM OCEANO (Portuguese Maritime Cluster). I participate in the social bodies of several associations related to blue biotechnology and the economy of the sea. I’m involved in the education sector, collaborating with institutions such as ICBAS - Institute for the Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, UTAD - University of Trás-os-Montes and

Alto Douro, AESE - Business School, and also regional high schools.

AQUAFEED: Aquasoja recently turned 26, but its entry into the aquaculture industry was more recent. How and when did it all begin?

AI: Aquasoja is a commercial brand of Sorgal. The beginning of the operation in the aquaculture feed industry was a consequence of a very close relationship with academia, as the business plan and the industrial utility was developed together with ICBAS - the Institute for the Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar from Porto University.

The agreement in 1989 was aimed at developing and producing compound feeds for aquaculture, and was the foundation of Aquasoja, one of the business areas that today represents the majority of the group’s exports. The collaboration with the University of Porto has strengthened over the years. The relationship with this community allows us to access the best possible skills, which would be extremely difficult to obtain if the innovation processes were not internalized. Therefore, Aquasoja consolidated the innovation system over the years on the basis of building symbiotic relationships with national and international universities and wellknown research institutes.

The Aquasoja products were initially only sold in Portugal, as part of a learning period, but five years from the start of operations we started to export all over the world. And we have been growing exports until now, where almost 90% of what we produce is for export.

AQUAFEED: Aquasoja has been developing a circular economy business model. How did this idea come about?

AI: As a poultry producer with its own slaughterhouse, Soja de Portugal has a large amount of co-products available.

We operate in three distinct sectors: animal nutrition (poultry, livestock, aquaculture and pet food), poultry meat production and the treatment and enhancement of animal co-products. With the primary objective of preserving and increasing natural capital by controlling finite stocks, balancing the flow of renewable resources and circulating products and materials, in the field of animal nutrition, raw materials produced by the The future is circular. Supported by 77 years of experience in the area of animal nutrition, we design solutions that result in added value for our customers, supported by the circular economy.

co-products recovery units belonging to the group are used. These co-products would normally have other destinations, so they are being used efficiently to produce compound feeds. In this way, Soja de Portugal business areas operate in perfect synergy. The production of poultry meat is done in an integrated regime, with its own production and with the hiring of producers. The poultry produced are fed with rations produced by us and slaughtered in our slaughterhouses. The co-products generated in the slaughter and cutting process are immediately processed in our processing units, converted into ingredients for animal feed, namely meal and poultry fat. Additionally, we produce other ingredients of animal origin, co-products of the agri-food industry. These ingredients are intended for animal feed and are used in pet food and aquaculture.

One of our R&D axes is the understanding of all the processes from the collection, protocols of processing and biological value. And, of course, being able to control (both in terms of quality and quantity) the source of your protein is a large advantage nowadays. I can say that one of the pillars of both our petfood and aquafeed business areas is this circular economy model. The future is circular. Supported by 77 years of experience in the area of animal nutrition, we design solutions that result in added value for our customers, supported by the circular economy.

AQUAFEED: Agri-food co-products are one of Aquasoja’s alternative sources to replace fishmeal and fish oil. What are the main challenges you are facing in

producing these alternative ingredients in terms of competitive pricing and scalability?

AI: Being able to understand the sources, control quality upstream, adjust the process to our downstream activities are big advantages. Of course, there are limits to the amounts we can process, but we are comfortable with what we have now.

AQUAFEED: Apart from locally sourced ingredients, what other strategies are you following to improve feed production sustainability?

AI: Sourcing locally means less transport, which ultimately means less carbon footprint. It can be challenging as it is not a trouble-free strategy. Markets are not yet ready to understand that carnivorous fish can transform good quality poultry protein as well as fish protein. And being able to discard fish trimmings that are not fit for processing (even though they came from fish consumed by humans) is also sometimes difficult. But, our focus on process improvement is critical. We are always learning new and better ways to produce, with ultimately nutritional and food safety gains.

AQUAFEED: Portugal is becoming an important European R&D hub and Aquasoja has been strongly supporting it. What are your next R&D priorities?

AI: The main axes of our R&D are process improvement (new ways to do better and more functional products) and functionality that are adapted to every kind of market and client.

One of Aquasoja main strategic vectors is innovation. The company knows that it is a fundamental dimension to lead the domestic market and obtain a prominent 15.00 [381] Ă12.00 [305] position in international markets. The goal is to create F085 SHIMPO 36.91 [937]

67.28 [1709] tailor-made solutions for clients through constant dialogue, adapting them to the needs and the situation of each one. We believe that an open innovation policy through our network of clients, suppliers, scientific institutions and other partners is part of Aquasoja. The scientific and technological community is essential to guarantee that the solutions presented to costumers are developed sustainably and guided by the most stringent R&D standards.

AQUAFEED: Aquasoja’s main market is Mediterranean aquaculture. Is that accurate? What are your future market prospects?

AI: Yes, it is. But we have an eye in other markets outside the Mediterranean where we believe we can match the demand.

AQUAFEED: The Mediterranean market for seabass/ seabream remains weak being one of the many challenges the European aquaculture industry faces. What do you think must be done to boost the industry in Europe?

AI: There are several issues in Mediterranean aquaculture both technical and commercial. From a technical point of view, we have to understand, and this year sadly proved it, that the Mediterranean sea is not as easy as everybody counted on. We are talking of real offshore operations, and the industry must start to discard exposed sites or operate with more adapted structures. Then, from a biological point of view, we have to better understand how to grow our fish in only 60% of the time available (typically temperatures are MAX. 393.31 [9990] not suitable for up to 40% of the time), and to keep MIN. 391.31 [9939] 31.19 [792] MAX. them as fit as possible. And not forgetting to get the 29.19 MIN. [741] appropriate price for a luxury product.