USSEC and ANFACA Join Forces to Provide Mexico’s Aquaculture Industry with Nutrition Training

Working together with the National Association of Manufacturers of Feed for Animal Consumption S.C. (ANFACA) in the Mexican market, USSEC developed a virtual session focused on generating knowledge about the principles of aquaculture nutrition and its importance in the efficiency of production to maintain the profitability of operations in the current economic situation. The main objective was to share updated and relevant information on aquaculture production and feeds with a high inclusion of U.S. Soy, which may have a favorable impact on the search processes to optimize and make the aquaculture business efficient. This fiscal year, Mexican aquaculture production reached nearly 250,000 metric tons (MT), representing a good potential for U.S. soy products.

More than 95 people attended this conference, which featured subject matter experts Mark Newman, specialist in aquafeed manufacturing; Gerardo Luna, USSEC lead for Mexico and expansion markets; and Jairo Amezquita, USSEC Aqua Program Manager – Americas.

Newman presented a lecture on the manufacturing of pelleted and extruded shrimp feeds, aqua feeds quality control, and fish nutrition. Prior to this presentation, Luna and Amezquita explained the role of USSEC in promoting sustainable aquaculture as well as the use of U.S. soybean meal in aquafeeds used to support Mexico’s aqua farming. The use and sustainability of U.S. Soy in aquafeeds was also explained to attendees. The audience participated in discussions about increasing the inclusion rate of soybean meal or other soy products.

The main recommendations and conclusions for the audience from this virtual course are as follows:

  • Aquafeed begins as a collaboration between nutritionists, quality assurance, technical assistance and purchasing departments:
  • Understands nutrient requirements of farmed species
  • Understands farming system
  • Provides potential ingredients to purchasing
  • Formulates cost-effective diets
  • Sets quality specifications of ingredients
  • Verifies quality of incoming ingredients
  • Purchases high-quality ingredients at lowest possible cost
  • Understanding the customers’ requirements
  • Results with 50% soy diets have been exceptional
  • Environmental & production monitoring tools communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans (aqua producers) in real time
  • Factors that determine growth of fish: genetic potential, environmental conditions, nutrient intake, nutrient content of feed, daily amount of feed consumed and using automatic feeders as control of daily rations

USSEC will continue to support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry around the world as a source of animal protein production for feeding humanity.