The sixth annual survey covered 141 countries and more than 30,000 feed mills.
Photo courtesy of iStock.
Photo courtesy of iStock.
It is a 3.7% increase over 2015 and represents 19% growth since Alltech’s inaugural survey in 2012, despite a 7% decrease in the number of feed mills.
The sixth annual survey covered 141 countries and more than 30,000 feed mills. The results show that the U.S. and China are the top two countries, producing one-third of all animal feed, and that predominant growth came from the beef, pig and aquaculture feed sectors as well as several African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
“This year clearly demonstrates the growing efficiency and consolidation of the feed industry,” said Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and vice-president of corporate accounts for Alltech. “Not only has total feed production exceeded 1 billion tonnes for the first time, but it has done so with fewer facilities, which means greater efficiencies and a decreased environmental footprint.”
The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations. It is intended to serve as an information resource for policymakers, decision makers and industry stakeholders.
This year’s survey showed that the top 30 countries, ranked by production output, are home to 82% of the world’s feed mills and produce 86% of the world’s total feed. The top 10 feed-producing countries in 2016, in order of production output importance, were: China, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, India, Russia, Germany, Japan and France. These countries contain 56% of the world’s feed mills and account for 60% of total production.
“Overall feed prices are down, and therefore food production costs are down,” Connolly said. “From a global perspective, we estimate the value of the feed industry at $460 billion.”
