January 28, 2015
Alltech survey: China, poultry lead global feed production
Alltech''s 2015 Global Feed Tonnage Survey has estimated a total of 980 million metric tons of feed produced globally, with more than one-third coming from Asia.
The top ten feed producers in the world remained the same as in 2013: China, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India, Spain, Russia, Japan, Germany and France.
Some of the smaller countries saw significant increases in productivity, including Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam, Poland, Romania and Morocco.
China once again held the title of leading feed producer with 182.69 million tons manufactured throughout the country''s 9,500 feed mills. However, this is the second year the nation has reported a decline in production.
The fifth largest producer, India, had a considerable boost in feed production. Their production figures were up to 29.4 million tons, a 10% increase over 2013 results, due mainly to favourable weather conditions and improvements in farming methods and technology.
Japan, another large feed producer, has maintained its eighth position in the world ranking with 24.31 million tons of compound feed produced.
Indonesia is now ranked as the world''s 12th largest feed producer (19.98 million tons), taking over the position from Korea (19.58 million tons) within a year.
When analysed by species, poultry held its position as the industry leader with a 45% share of the feed market at 439 million tons, despite a slight decline compared to last year''s survey.
Among livestock, pigs saw the largest percentage growth in 2014, up to nearly 256 million tons, of which 128.5 million tons comes from Asia. The aqua market also grew, up 1.8% to over 41 million tons.
According to Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and director of Alltech''s Global Feed Tonnage Survey, there were many ups and downs in worldwide production, with the industry 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.
He estimates the feed industry''s net worth at US$460 billion, based on average materials prices throughout 2014.
"2015 marks the fourth consecutive year that Alltech has conducted a global feed survey analysing feed production," Connolly said.
"This undertaking requires a significant amount of work each year, mainly because the feed industry is measured differently and in varying degrees of thoroughness from country to country. Each year, better information is discovered and more is learned about how farmers around the world feed their livestock."
The survey assessed the compound feed production from 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.
"Increasingly more consumers are asking questions such as: ''How do feed animals create more nutritious food for humans?'', ''How can a feeding programme impact the environment and the availability of resources?'' and ''How can agriculture increase efficiency and therefore feed more people?''" Connolly said. "Answers to these questions and many others can be found by starting with an examination of the feed animals are consuming worldwide."
The survey results are available at http://www.cnchemicals.com/