Cargill is betting big on the shrimp business in Ecuador with a new $30 million feed facility.
It's part of a continuing drive by the Minnetonka-based agribusiness giant to invest in the burgeoning global aquaculture market.
Cargill said Tuesday it has formed a joint venture with Naturisa, Ecuador's second largest shrimp producer. Cargill will own 75 percent of the partnership, and will operate the feed mill near Guayaquil.
The facility will produce 130,000 metric tons of shrimp feed and employ 260. The feed will be marketed under the Purina brand throughout Latin America.
"This joint venture with Naturisa positions us to become one of the largest producers of shrimp feed in Latin America," Sarena Lin, president of Cargill's animal feed and nutrition business.
Cargill is a big global player in animal feed. While aquaculture makes up only about 8 percent of the global animal feed business, it's growing faster than markets for poultry and livestock feed.
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