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Mitsui invests US$54.3M in FRD Japan’s rainbow trout RAS project

Japanese recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) company FRD Japan announced that it recently landed several investors to finance its plans to build a rainbow trout farm in Chiba Prefecture. The investors include one of Japan’s largest sogo sosha (general trading company) Mitsui & Co., which purchased share in FRD Japan amounting to US$54.3 million.

FRD said it reached agreements with Air Water Inc., STI Food Holdings, Inc., Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., Haseko Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and MUFG Bank, Ltd. to raise a total of ¥21 billion (US$143.9 million) through a third-party allotment of new shares.

“The funds to be raised will be used for the construction of the commercial plant, as well as for working capital, research and development, and investment (including expenditures for the pilot plant currently in operation and preparations for future large-scale plant development),” a press release from FRD said.

FRD aims to produce 3,500 metric tons of rainbow trout by 2027 from the Chiba facility located in a prefecture known for having the longest stretch of coastline in Japan and being home to the country’s two Disney parks.

FRD has been operating pilot plants for trout farming in Chiba and Saitama since 2018. The experimental plants have farmed more than 20 generations of fish and have demonstrated stable trout production without depending on the sea by maintaining ideal water quality through a unique closed RAS.