TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co said on Tuesday it would invest $360 million in Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila (IPSP), the world’s largest shrimp farming company based in Ecuador.
Mitsui, whose core business is commodity and energy trading, said it was buying shares from IPSP’s founders and the shrimp farming company would become an equity method affiliate of the trading house. It did not disclose the size of the stake.
Mitsui, which has a 35.1% stake in Vietnam-based Minh Phu Seafood, the world’s biggest shrimp processing company, said demand for shrimp as a protein source would continue to rise because of a growing global population and the popularity of low-calorie food.
“Mitsui aims to become a leading global player in the shrimp industry by extending the value chain to upstream such as breeding, feed and farming,” the statement said.
The deal is to be closed in the fiscal year ending in March 2024, it added.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Jamie Freed)
