Alverdens investeringsfirmaer og bankfolk mødes på AgInvest i Geneve, hvor de drøfter mulighederne for fremtidige investeringer og gode forretningsmuligheder. Blandt de sektorer der vurderes som spændende investeringmuligheder er akvakultur. Udviklingen i Kina, Indien og andre hurtigt voksende økonomier/lande har givet befolkningen råd til at spise mere luksuriøst. Derfor stiger efterspørgslen på kød, men at producere kød kræver store mængder planteafgrøder der igen stiller krav om store vandvolumener - og vand er en mangelvare i mange af disse lande. Det lyder jo som lidt af et paradoks, at alternativet er at producere fisk i kultur, men sagen er at det kræver 16.000 liter vand at producere et kilo bøfkød, mens en tilsvarende produktion af fiskekød kan produceres med så lidt som 500- 1200 liter vand (og endnu mindre ved fuld recirkulering). Kevin Schwartz, a partner at U.S. private equity firm Paine & Partners, said there was also significant appetite for fish as an alternative protein source that can be raised in a sustainable way. "Aquaculture is a way to meet that demand," he told the bankers, fund managers and investors gathered in Geneva at the Global AgInvesting conference. Rich Gammill, managing director of Black River Asset Management, part of agri-business giant Cargill, said fish such as tilapia raised in aquaculture could find plentiful customers around the world. "It just makes sense economically for people to turn to fish as a low-cost source of protein," he said, suggesting farming fish can also avoid ecological damage from over-fishing oceans and rivers, drawing in developed market customers too. "From a sustainability point, this needs to be developed," he told the conference. Some 80 percent of frozen tilapia -- a popular high-protein, low-calorie fish that is native to warm waters - sold in the United States is now sourced from China, according to Gammill. "There is an opportunity for Central America, for southeast Asia and for other markets who have control over their water quality and practices to play a much greater role," he said. Black River is also significantly involved in the dairy sector in China as well as infrastructure along the food and soft commodity supply chain, including processing.
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