Skretting has firm believed that Turkey has an emerging aquaculture industry so the company set up a business to import and distribute fish feeds. The business grew and in 2009 Skretting built a feed plant in Güllük to serve these markets. The first feeds were delivered in September 2009 and by June 2010 the plant was running at full capacity.
The company said that 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.
Aquaculture industry in Turkey is showing string growth. Alberto Allodi, the Managing Director of Skretting in the Eastern Mediterranean region, said that considering the economic clouds of 2008–2009, the Turkish economy and the performance of Skretting Turkey have both exceeded the expectations. He added that 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, said that there were many challenges but the 33-strong team of Skretting Turkey responded positively and we reached full capacity in June this year. He informed that 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.
