Hendrix agrees partnership to produce trout eggs in Peru
Netherlands-based animal breeding expert Hendrix Genetics has agreed a strategic partnership with Peruvian trout ova importer Coraqua to produce eyed eggs in Peru. The move will increase availability of ova for Troutlodge customers in and outside Peru and give rainbow trout producers in Peru access to fish adapted to the high-altitude conditions where they farm.
Hendrix owns US-based Troutlodge, the world’s largest supplier of trout eggs, and Coraqua currently imports Troutlodge eggs to Peru for onwards sale to trout farmers. Coraqua also produces 42 million fingerlings a year for the Peruvian trout farming industry.
Under the new partnership, fish will be grown from egg to mature broodstock at Coraqua’s Chichillapi site, which is at an elevation of almost 14,000 feet in the high Andes.
Already acclimatised
“With Troutlodge broodstock now being grown and spawned in our unique environment, our customers will have access to the high health, high quality trout eggs they know from Troutlodge, with the added benefit of already being acclimatised to the environmental conditions of the Peruvian high Andean region during their whole life cycle,” said Coraqua commercial manager Rosa Huasasquiche Perez in a press release.
Troutlodge general manager Keith Drynan said the deal was “a great step forward to increase the availability of our eggs to rainbow trout farmers worldwide and shows our commitment to be at the forefront of a successful and thriving trout industry globally”.
The first domestically grown eggs will be available to Peruvian farmers by November 2024.
Waiting list
The agreement with Coraqua is part of a strategy by Hendrix to establish domestic production in key markets, which it has already done for its Kona Bay shrimp brand in Ecuador, Indonesia and India.
The strategic partnership with Coraqua follows the same lines but is the first of its kind for Troutlodge. Hendrix said that while trout farmers in Peru will benefit from the increased access to local high-quality products and customer service, customers in other Troutlodge markets will also benefit with increasing capacity for production. Because of increasing demand, Troutlodge currently has a waiting list for new customers which will be mitigated as the new operations in Peru come online.
