- The purpose is not only to double capacity in Wuxi, but also to serve new customer segments and being able to produce specialty products for primary growth stages as well as for new high-end species
- The company launches SmartCare Defence, a new functional feed to support seabass during bacterial challenges
Following a successful growth journey in collaboration with the Chinese joint venture partner Tongwei, the Biomar’s production facility in Wuxi will during 2026 be expanded to encompass two lines. The purpose, they explained, is not only to double capacity in Wuxi, but also to serve new customer segments, being able to produce specialty products for primary growth stages as well as for new high-end species.
While it is expected that the new line in Wuxi will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2027, at the moment, that production facility in China mainly serves farmers within high-end species such as trout, salmon, sturgeon, largemouth bass, turbot and yellow croaker. As the new line will bring new technological opportunities to the facility, it opens to produce advanced nursery feed as well as feed for new species such as Japanese eel, grouper and mandarin fish.
“In recent years, we have developed a substantial business presence in China, where we collaborate with customers to introduce innovative feed solutions grounded in BioMar’s research and global experience with high-value species and sustainable aquaculture nutrition. Our goal is to elevate this success by expanding the production capacity in Wuxi with 50,000 tons, while integrating advanced technological capabilities into our production facility,” stated Carlos Diaz, CEO, BioMar Group.
Presence in the Country Since 2016
BioMar has been present in China since 2016, working together with the joint venture partner Tongwei. While the production facility in Wuxi was built as a greenfield, enabling a core BioMar manufacturing set-up, the production facility in Zhuhai (Haiwei) was acquired into the joint venture from Tongwei as it was successful serving the high-end species such as seabass and snakehead, targeted by the joint venture.
Today, the two production facilities have a joint capacity of 200,000 tons, which with the increasing market interest in the product portfolio is about to limit the growth opportunities of the company.
The expansion with a new line in China is a part of the overall BioMar growth strategy, expanding into new markets in close collaboration with customers and business partners. During the last decade, the company has built up business and production capacity in new geographies such as China, Ecuador, Australia, Iceland and Vietnam, and expanded into new business areas such as intelligent feeding technologies:
“We have built a solid model expanding the business, being ambitious in our growth aspirations, while ensuring that each courageous step into new markets is being nurtured and integrated into the BioMar business model. I see this clearly reflected in our books, where investments have historically been followed by growth in volumes and earnings, creating a strong global business for BioMar”, added Diaz.
Most Significant Challenges for Sea Bass Production
More recently, BioMar has launched SmartCare Defence, a new functional feed solution designed to support sea bass health and reduce mortality linked to bacterial infections during high-risk periods in Mediterranean farming. Bacterial diseases remain one of the most significant challenges for sea bass production; the seasonality of the outbreaks is well known.
While vaccination strategies have improved control against certain pathogens, bacterial outbreaks caused by species within genera such as Photobacterium, Vibrio and Aeromonas continue to drive losses at farm level. At the same time, the sector is moving towards reduced reliance on medicated feeds, increasing the need for nutritional tools that support the fish’s natural defenses.
According to the company, SmartCare Defence is the result of more than five years of research and development, combining controlled laboratory trials with large-scale commercial validation. The solution is part of BioMar’s SmartCare program, which focuses on functional nutrition strategies tailored to specific production challenges.
“The goal was to develop a feed solution that works with the fish’s own defense mechanisms, rather than reacting once problems occur,” says Elena Planas, Veterinarian at BioMar. “SmartCare Defence is designed to be used proactively, particularly ahead of periods when bacterial pressure is known to increase.”
The concept behind SmartCare Defence, they say, is built on a functional package of ingredients with optimized micro-nutrients, formulated to reduce bacterial growth, support intestinal integrity and immune function. Controlled challenge trials with Photobacterium damselae piscicida demonstrated a significant reduction in mortality. These results were consistently confirmed under commercial farming conditions, where overall mortality was reduced during periods of elevated disease pressure.
