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Brazilian seafood companies the Frescatto Company and Prime Seafood are set to merge, creating a business with a combined turnover of more than $300m. With Frescatto’s 80-year history in the Brazilian seafood sector and Prime’s export expertise, the two companies aim to bring together decades of experience in their respective areas of activity. Combined, the two businesses produce more than 30 million kg of fish annually. According to Frescatto Company, the union will improve competitiveness and strengthen its position in the global market by enhancing its export operations. This includes expansion to strategic markets such as China and the US. The merger, creating an entity worth around BRL 1.6 billion (approx. $318 million) is expected to lead the new business to earnings of over BRL 2 billion (approx. $399 million) in 2024. It will also enable deeper integration of operations with processing plants and distribution centres spread across Brazil, increasing the production capacity of each region and allowing supply to the national and international market. Eduardo Lobo, president at Prime Seafood, will join Frescatto’s board of directors. He commented on the development: “Our merger brings to Brazil the first major consolidation of the fish sector, transforming Frescatto into a global company. Others will certainly happen, but the first will always be the first!” Thiago De Luca, CEO at the Frescatto Company, said: “The incorporation of Prime Seafood further boosts the reach of our raw material capture network, increasing our variety of products”. “We will be able to bring ‘export-type’ products sold by Prime to Frescatto customers, such as lobster, snapper and yellow hake among others. Furthermore, Frescatto offers the opportunity to export other species that are not available in the Prime Seafood production line.”