MH Canada boss calls for efficiency and lower costs
The managing director of Marine Harvest Canada has warned that the company must "implement measures to regain efficiencies and reduce costs”.
Writing in Marine Harvest Canada’s Wharfside magazine, Erenst added: “High market prices, especially in the first nine months of the year, were the major contributor to the company's strong margins and excellent bottom line. With higher harvest volumes in Norway and Chile in the last quarter, prices in all markets came down. At the same time, we have witnessed operational costs slowly but steadily increase. Going forward we will have to implement measures to regain efficiencies and reduce costs.”
'Significant achievement'
Erenst added that he was "very proud" that in November MH Canada surpassed one year without a lost-time incident, a "very significant achievement for a company of our size and with our busy work environment".
The managing director also reported the British Columbia Supreme Court's December 22 decision to grant an injunction ordering protesters who had been occupying an MH salmon farm to leave. He added: "This event aside, we will continue to meaningfully engage with all neighbours, stakeholders and governments."
Value-added processing
Erenst said the company's value-added processing plant in Surrey, British Columbia, which began production on December 1, would soon employ 75 people.
Wharfside also reported details of Marine Harvest's 315,000,000 Canadian dollar share purchase agreement to acquire Northern Harvest, a leading salmon farmer on the east coast of Canada, which has its own broodstock, smolt/hatchery, farming sites and processing operations.
As well as giving Marine Harvest an extra 45 existing farming licences and 13 in application mode, the broodstock will be necessary to supply other sites the Norwegian-owned has purchased in Atlantic Canada as it looks to expand eastwards. The deal is subject to approval by relevant competition authorities and customary closing conditions.
