Japanese company expands aquaculture business into Netherlands

The company says the move will link up with its seafood businesses in Denmark and Latvia as part of the growth plan.

Okamura is engaged in farming rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in two countries – in Japan (in Aomori prefecture) and in Denmark, in freshwater and seawater facilities.

It said: “In expanding the overseas wholesale business, the group is not only seeking to increase sales in existing countries of operation but is also considering the establishment of new sales bases.”

The establishment of the Netherlands subsidiary is part of this strategy, with the following two main objectives – entry into the European market and synergies with the group’s aquaculture business and raw material procurement.

The large-scale trout aquaculture business which was started in Japan utilises the aquaculture knowledge cultivated in Denmark and equipment developed in Scandinavia.

In Denmark, its wholly owned subsidiary, Musholm, produces more than 3,500 tons of salmon trout each year.

The company farms rainbow trout with eggs, most of which are exported to the company in Japan and used as a raw material in its domestic processing operations. The meat of the fish is then sold to European countries and other markets, where it is used as raw material for processing as smoked salmon.

The company said: “In cooperation with the local community, we are advancing our aquaculture business for the global market.”

Okamura Foods says it will establish a wholly owned subsidiary, Okamura Trading Netherlands BV, in Amsterdam by May this year.