South America-based feed producer Vitapro is investing $35 million (€29 million) to expand capacity at its plants in Ecuador and Peru.

Both plants will be producing product for the Ecuadorian shrimp market, a Vitapro spokesperson told IntraFish.

The company said that when combined with its capacity in Honduras, the new investment places it among the largest producers of shrimp feed in Latin America.

Vitapro sees it as an appropriate moment to invest in the Ecuadorian shrimp sector through its plant in the Yaguachi, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Guayaquil and Trujillo, Peru.

Shrimp exports from Ecuador posted a three-fold increase by volume from 2011 to 2020 to 1.49 billion pounds. Over the same period, the value of shipments almost quadrupled to $3.6 billion (€3 billion). Ecuador exports nearly all the shrimp it produces.

Vitapro is also present in Chile, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and Mexico.