Securing aquaculture production in Finland

Fish production in Finland is thriving as Finland‘s only fish feed factory operates under a new name reflecting its new ownership. The company formerly known as Raisioaqua is now operating as Alltech Fennoaqua Oy.

The company, which was previously owned by the Raisio Group, was recently acquired by Finnforel Oy and Alltech, an animal nutrition company headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA. e new name, Alltech Fennoaqua Oy, is a reference to the company’s home country of Finland and the region around the Baltic Sea.

Overcoming threats to Finnish fish feed supply

Alltech Fennoaqua ensures Finnish domestic aquaculture production grown from its domestic feed production in Raisio, Finland. Before the acquisition by Alltech and Finnforel, sh feed production in Finland was under threat. If the factory had shut down, Finland’s rainbow trout would have been entirely dependent on foreign feed. „Fish feed production could have stopped in Finland without this change of ownership,” said Tomi Kantola, CEO of Alltech Fennoaqua. “After that, one could have questioned whether sh raised in Finland could actually be called Finnish in the end. Now, Alltech Fennoaqua will continue to provide Finnish feed for sh raised by Finns.“

Fish feed is a core business of the new owners of Alltech Fennoaqua, who are pioneers in nutrition for sh in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). e volume of production at the Alltech Fennoaqua factory will increase to accommodate additional production of RAS feeds. Alltech Coppens, Alltech’s aquaculture nutrition company, will also support the company through its RAS farming contacts and aid in developing new sales channels around the world for the feed produced within Finland. RAS farming is the future, according to Mr Kantola. Alltech Coppens has a research centre in the Netherlands, which can now be used in the feed company’s own research activities. anks to the research centre and the available capacity we can expand our production to include feeds used in RAS farming, he says.

Feeding fish far from Finland

Along with these ample resources for research and product development, the new ownership will also enable the expansion of the company’s operations abroad. Alltech Fennoaqua‘s primary focus is on increasing exports, and thanks to Alltech Coppens’ global distribution, the company will be able to begin exporting feed to a much broader market, with a focus on neighbouring countries and regions, including Sweden, Poland, the Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Alltech Fennoaqua will continue to develop, manufacture and sell sh feed in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and the circular economy, which align with Alltech’s purpose of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™. e company’s focus is on producing feed that provides the highest level of nutrition, which bene ts the sh and, as a result, the end consumer. Nutrition is the most signi cant factor in the growth of sh, notes Mr Kantola. e future is bright for the Finnish aquaculture industry, as Finns like eating sh—and are particularly interested in eating sh from Finland. Currently, one-third of the sh eaten by Finns is produced domestically. e average Finnish person eats 12.5 kilos of sh per year, with 4.2 kilos being domestic and 8.3 kilos being foreign. Domestic sh is fresh, healthy and, of course, tasty, says Mr Kantola, and the production of domestic sh feed ensures that Finnish sh can be grown if the import of foreign sh or sh feed is interrupted. With more than 80 of Finns reporting that they would like to increase their sh consumption, Alltech Fennoaqua is perfectly positioned to continue growing, both domestically and abroad.

For more information, visit alltech. com and alltechcoppens.com.

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