NEWS 76 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE January 2024 K+S and Aquapurna announced that the largest and most modern indoor shrimp farm in Europe will soon be built at the Sigmundshall site near Hanover, Germany. This has been contractually agreed upon between K+S and the start-up Aquapurna. K+S is investing an amount in the low double-digit million-euro range in this sustainable project and is acting as a builder, landlord, and media supplier for the new farm. Aquapurna is receiving a further seven-figure investment from private investors. “We are very pleased that with Aquapurna we will be establishing a sustainable business model in our Innopark on a large scale, which also meets the interests of the stakeholders in this region,” says Carsten Möller, Head of the Sigmundshall site and the Innopark. “The project is a perfect strategic step for K+S for the subsequent use of the existing infrastructure at the former Sigmundshall potash site,” adds Saban Bala, who is responsible for the further development of the Innopark at K+S. “Together with the globally operating industrial company K+S, we are making a significant contribution to sustainable and autonomous food supply in Europe,” emphasises David Gebhard, Managing Director of Aquapurna. Co-Managing Director Florian Gösling adds: “K+S shares our conviction of a better world through the sustainable use of green technologies.” The new shrimp farm is to be built in three phases. In its final state, the aim is for the complex to consist of two production halls with a floor area of approximately 18,000 square metres. This is equivalent to more than two soccer pitches. K+S has made a corresponding area available for this purpose. In the first construction phase from 2024 to mid-2025, a production hall and a supply and infrastructure wing with a size of approx. 4,000 square metres will be built. The roofs of the production halls will later also be fitted with solar panels to generate environmentally friendly electricity. Modern recirculation technology will be installed for the grow-out process, with over 98% of the grow-out water being continuously reused and little wastewater being produced. A farm capacity of up to 800 tonnes of shrimp per year is planned. A total of around 50 jobs are expected to be created on-site. Read more>> The benchmark for world food commodity prices was broadly stable in November, with lower international cereal quotations offset by higher prices of vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) reported on December 8. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.4 points in November, unchanged from its level in the previous month and 10.7 percent lower than in November 2022. The FAO Cereal Price Index decreased by 3.0 percent from October. International prices of coarse grains dropped by 5.6 percent, led by a sharp fall in maize prices, while those of wheat declined by 2.4 percent in November. The FAO All Rice Price Index remained stable month-on-month amidst contrasting price movements across different origins and market segments. The Vegetable Oil Price Index, meanwhile, increased by 3.4 percent from October. International palm oil prices rebounded by more than 6.0 percent in November, chiefly underpinned by more active purchases by leading importing countries and seasonally lower outputs in major producing countries. World sunflower oil prices rose moderately, while quotations for soy oil and rapeseed oils dropped K+S and Aquapurna build Europe's largest shrimp farm FAO: Record grain harvest expected for next year
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