Global feed production up 2% in 2014, says survey

A survey on animal feed conducted by leading animal health company Alltech showed that an estimated total of 980 million metric tonnes of feed was produced globally last year, an increase of about 2% over the previous year''s 960 million metric tonnes.

China was once again the leading feed producer, churning out an output of 182.69 million tonnes in its 9,500 feed mills, according to the recently released "Alltech 2015 Global Feed Survey." China''s 2014 output, however, declined for the second year in a row by a notable 4% from 2013.

The United States was the second-leading producer, followed by Brazil, Mexico, India, Spain, Russia, Japan, Germany and France in that order. Some of the smaller countries saw significant jumps in productivity, including Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam, Poland, Romania and Morocco.

The US produced 172.5 million metric tonnes in 6,718 feed mills and Brazil, 66 million metric tonnes in 1,698 feed mills.

Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and director of the survey, estimates the feed industry''s net worth at $460 billion, based on average materials prices throughout 2014.

"The feed industry is measured differently and in varying degrees of thoroughness from country to country," Connolly said. "Yet, each year, better information is discovered and more is learned about how farmers around the world feed their livestock."

The Global Feed Survey assessed the compound feed productionfrom 130 countries in December 2014, through information obtained in partnership with local feed associations and the company''s sales team, who visit more than 28,000 feed mills annually.

Other notable findings of the survey include:

No. 5 global producer India considerably boosted its feed production up to 29.4 million tonnes, a 10% increase over 2013, owing mainly to favorable weather conditions and improvements in farming methods and technology.

Turkey, Indonesia Romania, Tunisia and Bolivia were also classified as hot spots for growth and development, with each reporting significantly increased production for the second consecutive year.

Africa and Latin America saw the greatest growth in 2014, with Africa experiencing growth in all species including poultry and pig feeds.

Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and the Middle East all showed slight declines.

Among the regions, Asia led by producing 350,540,000 metric tonnes of feed (in 13,736 feed mills. It was followed by Europe, which produced 232,580,000 metric tonnes (in 5,165 feed mills); North America, 192,800,000 metric tonnes (in 6,790 feedmills); Latin America, 144,840,000 metric tonnes (in 3,914 feed mills); Africa, 34,570,000 metric tonnes (in 1,150 feedmills); and the Middle East, 24,750,000 metric tonnes (in 288 feed mills). Total global production was 980,070,000 metric tonnes of feed manufactured in 31,043 feed mills.

Poultry held its position as industry leader with a 45% share of the feed market at 439 million tonnes, despite a slight decline from the year before.

Pig and pet feeds saw the largest percentages of growth in 2014, up to nearly 256 million tonnes and nearly 22 million tonnes, respectively.

Aqua feed again grew, up 1.8% to over 41 million tonnes.

Equine feed production saw a decline.

Connolly said there were many areas of ups and downs in worldwide production, impacted by both positive and negative influences such as slow markets, shifting raw feed material costs, fluctuating governance over import/export standards, and animal diseases such as PEDv in pigs and bird flu in poultry.