South Africa-based Oceana, which deals in fish oil and fishmeal, plans to invest $13 million in two new facilities in Angola and Namibia.

“We are busy commissioning a plant in Angola that I think is an important investment,” said Oceana CEO Francois Kuttel. “We are doing this in conjunction with an Angolan partner and the country’s Ministry of Fisheries, and that facility will be up and running in December.”

In Namibia, the company will increase its fishmeal production capacity by 2,000 metric tonnes (MT) by September 2016, said Kuttel, speaking at the 2015 IFFO conference last week.

“We are putting a new fishmeal plant in our cannery in Namibia with better technology and better quality. It will deal with trimmings from our canning operations,” he added.

In July, Oceana closed a “game-changer” transaction in the global fishmeal sector with the USD 382.3 million purchase of Daybrook Fisheries in Louisiana, U.S.

The African investments, in addition to the Louisiana menhaden and fishmeal operation at Daybrook Fisheries, will be followed by a period of consolidation at Oceana, to make sure that investments are done efficiently.

Oceana also sees an opportunity for synergies between its African and American fishmeal investments and does not rule out an acquisition in the Peruvian fishmeal sector in a few years’ time.

“Fishmeal is probably the most attractive sector to invest in and grow within the seafood industry,” said Kuttel.

Oceana’s projected total fishmeal capacity by end of 2016, is estimated at 107,000 MT.

Source: afkinsider.com. Read the full story here.