USSEC aquafeed specialist Tim O’Keefe provided fish and shrimp feed technical support to the USSEC aquaculture program in China in September.  Key highlights of the tech visits included a visit to the Jinling Feed Company in Lianyunguang, where it was learned that Jinling had purchased additional land to construct a new facility for production of 150,000 tons/yr of extruded aquafeed.  Jinling is also in the process of constructing 34 acres of new ponds in which they will raise freshwater fish using the Intensive Pond Aquaculture (IPA) technology that USSEC began demonstrating in China this year with funding support from the Iowa Soybean Association.
Technical support was also provided to the new Cargill aquafeed mill in Zhenjiang, which became fully operational this summer.  Previously, Cargill had only two production lines making extruded aquafeed in China.  The Zhenjiang mill was expanded to bring on a third extrusion line, with space for the future installation of another extruder.  This mill will be used strictly for the production of aquafeed.  Cargill indicated its decision to prioritize aquafeed development in its strategic plan.  The next mill scheduled for expansion is located in Yangjiang, where Cargill plans to install 4 extrusion lines - two for production of feeds for freshwater fish and two for marine species.  Cargill requested assistance from USSEC in three critical areas to help with their aquaculture expansion efforts:  the production of soy-based feeds for USSEC field demonstration projects; technical assistance from USSEC in the form of presentations and seminars on nutrition, feed manufacturing and general aquaculture principles and practices; and assistance from USSEC in conducting training sessions for key customers on general aquaculture principles and practices.
Tim O’Keefe, together with USSEC aquaculture staff Jim Zhang and Sean Lan, and visiting USSEC shrimp specialist Ken Corpron, provided additional technical support to the following groups:  feed manufacturing, feed formulation and fish nutrition assistance to the Techbank/Ningbo, Huayi/Anhui and Tongwei/Wuxi aquafeeds mills; fish and shrimp production and feed support to Samuels/Qingdao, Yantai Tai Hua Group/Yintai, and Guolian/Zhanjiang; and participation in a half-day seminar on shrimp culture technology in Anhui Province.
China generates over 60% of global aquaculture production, most of which is consumed domestically.  Domestic demand is forecasted to double over the next decade.  USSEC works with the Chinese aquaculture industry to help meet this demand by developing and promoting the production of healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture products produced with U.S. soy.