soybean field

USSEC Korea Helps Feed Mills and Flounder Growers to Take Further Steps toward Soy-Based Aquafeed

USSEC Korea continued to help feed mills and flounder growers further move toward soy-based aquafeed.  USSEC investigated the marketing strategies of Korean feed mills leading the aquaculture industry and the farming strategies of flounder growers for 2014.

These feed mills and flounder growers are in line with the expansion of the Korean government’s subsidy program to encourage the use of protein meal-based extruded feed (EP) instead of fish-based moist pellet feed (MP).  Feed mills focused their marketing and research and development on EP products designed for the grower stage of flounder weighing 200-500 grams.  This is the critical period of the entire life cycle during which some critics claim that EP is inferior in growth performance to MP, supposedly delaying the time to reach market size of at least one kilogram.  The continuance of the Korean government’s policy is expected to motivate more marine fish growers to choose EP in the future.  USSEC’s goal is to create and increase opportunities for U.S. soy in the Korean aquaculture sector by suggesting the optimum inclusion rates of soybean meal and soy protein concentrate in the extruded feed for aquaculture based on feeding studies done by the United Soybean Board (USB).