World feed production increased by 3%

Top eight countries produce 55% of the world’s feed

The 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates that international feed tonnage has increased by a strong 3% to 1,103 billion metric tonnes produced in 2018, exceeding one billion tonnes for the third consecutive year.

The eighth edition of the annual survey includes data from 144 countries and nearly 30 000 feed mills. The feed industry has seen 14,6% growth over the past five years, which equates to an average of 2,76% per year. As the population grows, so does the middle class, which is well reflected in an increase in overall protein consumption. The top eight feed producing countries are China, the US, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Together, they produce 55% of the world’s feed production and are home to 59% of the world’s feed mills. Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler and dairy feed sectors. The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices in the last quarter of 2018. It provides estimates and is intended to serve as an information resource for policymakers, decisionmakers and industry stakeholders.

Regional results

Europe: Europe saw an overall growth of about 4% over last year, making it the secondfastest growing region, resulting from feed production increases in layer (7%), broiler (5%), aquaculture (5%), dairy (4%) and pig (3%). Beef was the only primary protein species to decline, though it was less than 1%. Much of the region’s growth can be attributed to smaller countries, such as Turkmenistan, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which all saw increases in overall production estimates of 20% or more. Additionally, largerproducing countries like Russia, Spain and Turkey, saw strong increases in feed production estimates.

North America: North America saw steady growth of 2% over last year, with beef and broilers leading the growth at 3% each. The US remained the second largest feed producing country globally, after China. Feed prices in North America are the lowest globally across all species.

Latin America: As a region, Latin America was relatively stagnant this year. Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce the majority of feed in Latin America, with 76% of regional feed production. Brazil stayed flat, while Mexico and Argentina saw growth of 1% and 4% respectively. Colombia’s feed production grew by approximately 8%, primarily due to an increase in pork and egg production. Several countries saw a decline in feed production, such as Venezuela (27%), El Salvador (16%) and Chile (8%).

Asia-Pacific: The AsiaPacific region is home to several of the top 10 feedproducing countries, including China, India and Japan, and accounted for more than 36% of the world’s feed tonnage. China maintained status as the top feedproducing country in the world with 187,89 million tonnes, 10 million tonnes more than the US. Increased production for AsiaPacific came from India with 13% due to growth in dairy, layer and broiler feeds. Other countries that demonstrated higher growth variance included Pakistan, Myanmar and Laos.

Africa: Africa continued strong growth with a 5% increase in overall feed production, and no country in the region saw a decline. Morocco demonstrated strong growth across dairy, beef, layers, broilers and turkeys. The areas that declined for feed production were equine (4%) and pets (14%). These two areas represent a very small proportion of Africa’s overall production, so the impact is minimal. Most of the major animal production species in ruminants and poultry contributed to the overall growth of the region.

Notable species results

In the poultry industry, major growth areas for layer feed included Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. In Europe, Poland and Uzbekistan each saw growth of around 200 000 tonnes. Latin America had increases in Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, India and Indonesia all saw growth of several hundred tonnes. North America experienced overall growth of 2%, in which both the US and Canada saw increased production. Africa saw a small decrease in layer production, due to declines in both Egypt and Seychelles.

Globally, broiler production increased by approximately 3% in 2018. There was growth in all regions, except for Latin America, in which a very small decline was observed. Africa showed 9% growth, demonstrating an overall trend that as populations grow and become wealthier, interest in protein – particularly in palatable chicken – does as well.

Pig feed production saw an increase of nearly 1% in 2018. The primary producing region for pig feed is AsiaPacific, but this was also the only region that saw a decline in pig feed production, as Mongolia, Vietnam, China, New Zealand and Japan experienced decreases. From a tonnage standpoint, Europe saw the largest growth at approximately 2,2 million tonnes. Russia and Spain accounted for the majority, while Finland, Denmark, France and Poland also contributed. Latin America saw the greatest growth in pig feed as a percentage (5%), with the largest growth seen in Mexico and Argentina.

Global dairy feed production saw growth in North America, Europe and Africa, while Latin America remained flat. Europe, a global leader in dairy production, grew on average by approximately 4%. The largest increase was in Turkey with 10%, while Ireland, Russia and the UK also contributed to the region’s growth. Africa’s growth was primarily due to a significant increase in both Morocco and Nigeria.

North America has always led beef feed production and continues to do so with an increase of 3% in 2018. Europe saw a small decline at barely 1% and remained in second place. Latin America saw strong growth of approximately 8%, with Mexico and Argentina as the primary contributors. As a result, the Latin American region has taken third place in beef feed production, moving ahead of the AsiaPacific region. China and Australia both saw growth in the AsiaPacific region, but could not offset the overall decline in countries such as Bangladesh, Mongolia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4% over last year. This was primarily attributed to strong increases in the AsiaPacific and European regions. The traditional AsiaPacific leaders in aquaculture, Vietnam, India and Indonesia, combined for an additional 1,58 million tonnes of feed in the region. China, the region’s leader, also saw an increase of 1% over last year. The primary European leaders either experienced strong growth or remained relatively flat. Those that did grow included Norway and Turkey, both at 7%, and Spain at a substantial 31%. The other regions remained relatively flat.

To access more data and insights from the 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including the results booklet, an interactive global map and a prerecorded video presentation of the results by Dr Mark Lyons, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com

Article republished with the kind permission of Afgriland

Afgriland Mar/Apr 2019