The global aquafeed industry grew 12 percent last year to 39.9 million metric tons (mmt), according to Alltech’s 2017 Global Feed Survey.
Alltech released its findings on Wednesday, and said the aquafeed industry has seen six consecutive years of growth, in line with growth in consumption of farmed fish.
The largest regional growth in aquafeed was seen in Europe, which produced 9 percent of the world’s aquafeed last year. The Asia-Pacific region produced the most aquafeed, at 74 percent. Latin America produced 10 percent of the world’s aquafeed, North America produced 5 percent, and the Middle East and Africa each produced 1 percent.
Carp is the primary aqua species produced worldwide, at 32 percent. Other primary aqua species are:
- Shrimp (marine and fresh), 21 percent
- Tilapia, 12 percent
- Salmon, 11 percent
- Catfish, 8 percent
- Others, 16 percent
There are regional differences in the types of fish produced. The top-producing countries of various aqua species vary:
- Carp: China, 62 percent
- Trout: Peru, 74 percent
- Catfish: U.S., 40 percent
- Shrimp: India, 66 percent
- Salmon: Norway, 94 percent
Avian influenza's effect on poultry feed production
Poultry still has the largest market share of all species of feed production, at 44 percent. Pig feed makes up 27 percent of global production, while ruminant feed is at 21 percent, and other species is at 8 percent.
Broiler feed production declined 0.67 percent from the previous year to 287 mmt, due to avian influenza outbreaks, improved feed conversion, and consolidating poultry production.
Global turkey feed production decreased 4.6 percent to 14.62 mmt. Brazil, Germany and Russia all reported significantly lower turkey feed production. Alltech noted that there has been a global switch from turkey consumption to broiler meat, specifically in the European Union, and that is the likely reason behind this drop.
There was a sharp decrease in production of feed for ducks and other poultry, most visible in France, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Turkey and Thailand. An avian influenza outbreak in France is to blame for that country’s decline.
Dairy feed production flat, beef sees growth
Dairy feed production was flat, with 116.4 mmt of feed produced worldwide. The U.S. and India were the top producers of dairy feed, but Turkey, Germany and France each saw declines in dairy feed production.
The U.S. was the world’s leading beef feed producer, at 82 mmt. China, Spain, Turkey and Mexico also saw substantial increases in beef feed production, as lower meat prices caused consumption to rebound.
