From left to right: Shinsuke Tamaru, Managing Director, Makoto Tamaru, CEO, and Boyd Way, Director International Trade Manager
INTERVIEW with Dainichi Corporation AQ: Dainichi started as a feed business, but today it is a vertically integrated company. Where is the company today in terms of farmed species? DC: In 1982, we began as a feed company, and today, we are vertically integrated into raw materials, aquafeeds, aquaculture production, and more. Currently, we are farming red seabream (Pagrus major), yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata; Hamachi), and bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis).. We also farm a small amount of Sakura masu (Oncorhynchus masou), a domestic Japanese trout. Sakura masu is primarily sold in the local market, especially to schools and nursing homes for their lunches and dinners. About 20% of our other seafood
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production is exported, with the remainder sold domestically. We are increasingly focusing on expanding our export market. AQ: How about the aquafeed production? DC: On a dry weight basis, we produce about 14,000 metric tons annually. We manufacture moist pellets using cold extrusion, combining pilchards, anchovies, and frozen fish with a binder and fishmeal to form moist pellets. This was our original feed formulation. We then began purchasing feed from large feed companies. Currently, we import raw materials from Central America, which are then sold to a feed mill
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 17 Issue 3 2024