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FEFAC: EU compound feed production stable in 2021

However, overall compound animal feed production in the EU is expected to fall in 2022 by 4 million to 5 million tons.

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Forecast for 2022 expects overall industrial compound feed production in the EU to decrease

Compound animal feed production in the EU was stable in 2021, but is expected to fall in 2022 by 4 million to 5 million tons, the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC) said.

Compound feed production in the EU-27 for farmed animals in 2021 is estimated at 150.2 million metric tons, an increase of 0.03% compare with 2020.

“Except for the pig feed sector, all other sectors managed to stabilize/or slightly increase their production despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, global grain market rally, supply chain disruptions and spread of animal diseases in 2021,” the report said.

The EU poultry feed sector increased production by 1.1% from the previous year, recovering partially from losses related to COVID restrictions.

The EU pig meat sector in 2021 faced several challenges, including reduced demand, high feed costs and the impact of African swine fever (ASF). These challenges caused pig feed production to decrease 1.5% from 2020.

“The countries most affected were particularly Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Slovenia and Hungary,” the report said. “The Netherlands and Belgium have continued depopulation of their pig herds in order to lower agricultural environmental emissions.”

Cattle feed production increased by 0.2% due to increased production in Ireland, Bulgaria and Austria.

“In Italy and Czech Republic, dairy farmers decided to buy industrial compound feed rather than mixing their feed on farms, reacting to high costs for raw materials,” FEFAC said.

Outlook for 2022

FEFAC’s market outlook for 2022 predicts that the EU pig and poultry sectors will “reduce their activities due to the high cost of feed materials, lower market demand and expanding avian influenza outbreaks in several countries.”

Pig feed production is forecast to decline 4.2% and poultry feed production by 3% in 2022. Cattle feed production is also expected to decline by 1.6%. Overall, FEFAC estimates industrial compound feed production in the EU will decrease by 2.9% in 2022.

“However, market uncertainties remain very high due to ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine,” the report said. “The immediate loss of feed maize, sunflower meal and other feed materials from Ukraine and Russia could only be partially compensated by increased feed imports, mainly from the U.S. and Canada. Key logistical challenges are persisting on how to move existing grain stocks out of Ukraine and will continue to impact market availability in the new marketing year.”

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