Southeast Asia Aquaculture Programs In Full Swing, Presenting Opportunities For DDGS

While aquafeed production in the Asia Pacific grew three percent to 36.5 million metric tons (MMT) in 2021, market penetration of coarse grains and co-products is still relatively low. To build on this growth in shrimp and tilapia feed segments specifically, the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEA&O) region has increased its strategic programming.

Earlier this month, the Council’s SEA&O team conducted its aquaculture roadshow, making stops in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand; and Jakarta, Indonesia. Presentation topics at each of the events included a 2023 outlook for global shrimp aquaculture and its challenges; aquafeed extrusion techniques; advances in shrimp and tilapia aquaculture systems; and a review of fish and shrimp nutrition and opportunities for distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS).

“A significant part of our strategy is to help increase the overall health of the aquaculture industry by disseminating information about management, disease mitigation and other tools for industry resiliency. It’s a simple calculation – more mouths translate into more demand for U.S. coarse grain products,” said Caleb Wurth, USGC SEA&O regional director.

As part of the roadshow, the group of speakers and USGC staff visited tilapia farms in Thailand to discuss on-farm constraints and opportunities.

“Hearing directly from the farmer is critical to the formation of good aquaculture strategy. Our products add value, but we need to fully understand what the issues are on the ground to help,” Wurth said.

The SEA&O office continues to partner with research universities and organizations, including the Petambak Muda Indonesia (Young Shrimp Farmers Association) and World Aquaculture Society, to build the recognition of coarse grain product use in aquaculture while it conducts additional research on the performance of DDGS in shrimp and tilapia diets.