Shrimp farming enterprise

Project overview

KodoGE plans to build a sustainable shrimp farm which will provide fresh (never frozen) shrimps to Nordic markets farmed in a healthy and ethical way.

The Company has established a subsidiary SIA APGE based in Latvia which will undertake this project.

The project team has made extensive research about potential export markets (Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway) and identified a free niche for fresh or chilled shrimps. In these markets only frozen shrimps of tropical origin are available, or locally sourced and frozen shrimps are available. The founding team has been working on shrimp farming projects in Latvia since 2014 and has gained significant experience which is a prerequisite for the current project.

Competitive advantage

a: The highest quality sea product for gourmets;

b: A healthy product free from veterinary drugs and pollutants;

c: Sustainable and socially responsible cultivation technology;

d: Available fresh all year round;

e: Small ecological footprint.

Total investment

: EUR 6.3 m (USD 5.8 m)

The demand for shrimps and shrimp-based food is growing but fresh shrimps are hard to come by since the majority of shrimps consumed are frozen. Fresh shrimps offer a superior taste and texture compared to frozen ones.

Most of the shrimp available globally are farmed in questionable conditions posing potential health risks for consumers. For example, one of the most extensive summary studies has concluded that Asian countries, where most of the production is produced, use a wide range of chemical and biological agents, including antibiotics, metal-containing compounds, pesticides, other agrochemicals, and animal and human excreta.

Frozen shrimps available in Europe mostly don’t fit the criteria of a healthy product
and ethical farming.

The market context

According to available information, there are currently no fresh chilled shrimp production companies in Eastern Europe, so this is a free market niche. In the summer of 2015, tropical shrimp production facilities were put into operation in Sweden. However, the capacities of these facilities are rather small.

Several production plants also exist in Western Europe, such as "Green Aqua Farming", "Crusta Nova", "Förde Garnelen", "Scherbring's Bio-Garnelen" located in Germany. In Spain there is a production company “Gamba Natural” which has received a certificate of biological aquaculture.

Competition between fresh chilled shrimp producers in the EU does not yet exist, the market offer is just beginning to form. At the same time, significant competition exists with shrimp in other forms. Buyers who do not have significant health and environmental protection aspects, as well as compliance with ethical norms, have relatively wide choices. Shrimps are widely available, and any buyer will have access
to several alternatives to fresh shrimps.