INTERVIEW WITH NICK MILLER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MARINE PRODUCE AUSTRALIA (MPA)

“Premium Barramundi - Barramundi at the Buccaneer Archipelago”

http://www.brr.com.au/event/48010

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008, 11:00 AM.

            BRR    Today Boardroom Radio is joined by Mr. Nick Miller, the Managing Director of Marine Produce Australia. Nick, glad to have you on Boardroom Radio.

10        MPA     Good afternoon.

            BRR    Now Nick, given that this is Marine Produce’s first Boardroom Radio broadcast, perhaps we could start by having a bit of a high-level introduction to your corporate history, you are a fairly longstanding player in the

15                    aquaculture industry, and just a brief rundown of where your key project is based.

            MPA     Our project is based in Cone Bay in North Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago in Cone Bay.

20        BRR    Fairly a pristine environment. How long have you been based up there and how long have you been involved in the aquaculture game?

            MPA     I have been involved mainly with the pearling industry prior to being involved with fish since 1982, and it came by operation as a pearling in aquaculture venture has been going since 1989.

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            BRR    Now, you are, of course, farming barramundi out there in the tropical waters. What makes barramundi such a suitable fish for aquaculture ventures like yours?

            MPA     I think that the market for barramundi is quite well known in Australia and it is

30                    a popular table fish. We are aiming to sell into that Australian market, but also, over time, to promote the product overseas.

            BRR    Looking at the corporate video that you showed at your general meeting today, it sounded like you had some blue-chip names on your distribution

35                    network already.

            MPA     We have had discussions with a lot of companies over time to research the market and they have all been very positive about the product that when we are in a position to supply the volumes they require that they will be very interested.

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            BRR    In terms of your biomass, what sort of weight have you got in the water out there at the moment and what sort of projections are you making for growth?

            MPA     There is somewhere over 700 tonnes in the water or 700,000 kilograms and we believe we need to get to more like 2 million kilograms in the water to

45                    have a sustainable business.

            BRR    And what sort of timeframes and projections are you looking at to get to that level?

            MPA     It takes two years to grow the fish out, so we would be looking at four to five years to get up to that sort of production level.

            BRR    Probably the most established aquaculture sector in Australia will be the

5                      salmon industry in Tasmania. You are at a bit of an advantage over them in many ways. You are in warmer waters and you have got a much faster growing fish. Will that help you ramp up quickly?

            MPA     It will help us to ramp up quickly. We do have a significant growth advantage over salmon, and also, I think that we have got a product that is readily

10                    accepted in the market, whereas I think they had to create market share.

            BRR    Just sticking with that point of market share, you are obviously conveniently located next to the emerging Asian markets. That is where a lot of the other aquaculture companies are seeing growth. Is that the direction you see

15                    Marine Produce going?

            MPA     I think that we are probably, at this stage, more heading towards the domestic market and investigating higher price premiums for our fish by looking at exporting into Europe and the US rather than going into the sort of lower-value product areas like Asia, but we would certainly be looking at it at a later

20                    time.

            BRR    In terms of distribution, it may be too early to say, but will you be looking to create your own brand like a number of the other aquaculture players have done?

25        MPA     Yes, we will. We are selling our product as Cone Bay Barramundi now because we see that very much shows our product as clean and green and that is really the way we want to proceed.

            BRR    Staying with the clean and green theme, you have got a whole lot of tidal flow

30                    up there through your cages and you are obviously a saltwater barramundi production facility. That gives you a certain advantage over a number of your players. I imagine it allows you to claim a bit of a premium price for your product.

            MPA     Yes, we have got very good water circulation through the bay and that gives

35                    us, certainly, an advantage over areas that have low tidal movement in that it keeps us with good flow through the cages and we do not have any risk of fish (inaudible) (0:04:11) underneath the cages, that sort of thing. So, I guess we do certainly have an advantage.

40        BRR    It allows you to create, I would imagine, a fairly disease-free and clean product.

            MPA     Yes, it certainly assists through that, yes.

            BRR    You have been listening to Nick Miller, the Managing Director of Marine

45                    Produce Australia, talking to Boardroom Radio. Nick, thanks for your time.

            MPA     Thanks very much.

INTERVIEW CONCLUDED

Contact brr@brr.com.au for more information

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