China’s feed industry surpassed all expectations in 2016 07-24-2017

China has become the largest producer of livestock products as well as animal feed worldwide. The output in 2016 surpassed previous expectations, while GMO products are still growing slowly in the country.


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According to market intelligence firm CCM, China’s feed output has increased by 4.5% in the year 2016, which has surpassed previous expectations and shows the trend of China’s booming food and feed industry.  


While mixed feeds and additives premixes witnessed a year on year growth, the output of concentrated feed was shrinking in 2016, due to the preference of China’s manufacturers towards the first types.  


China’s feed industry is witnessing a boost in safety regulation, bigger industry integration and more innovation nowadays. The industry integration can be especially seen in the reduction of feed mills, which are required to have higher standards for food safety. The stricter safety regulation is affecting the use of antibiotics in livestock production, with the government reducing the number of legal antibiotics for feed to 35. Innovation takes mainly place in the collaboration of universities and testing centres with enterprises to combine the power of effective research.  


China’s feed production for the livestock industry has experienced a huge boost in the past years in general. The main segments of growth are hereby swine, poultry meat, eggs, and ruminants production. Feed for swine production has seen the biggest growth, started in 2007 and only slowed down in 2012 again.  


In 2016, a rebound was found in China’s livestock and poultry farming, which benefited an increasing feed output as well. Shrinking feed raw materials costs has furthermore given enterprises a higher profitability. One reason for the dropping production costs is the cancelling of China’s corn stock policy, which pushed the price of corn down continuously since then.


 

 

According to CCM, the year 2016 also revealed a growing number of manufacturers for feed in China. Compared to 2015, the last year saw an increase of enterprises by 3,119. The higher profitably in the last year is the main reason for the increasing number, which rebounded since decreasing numbers from 2011 to 2015.  


In 2015, the number of feed processing enterprises fell to around 6,000 compared with 7,000 in 2014, 10,113 in 2013 and 10,858 in 2012. The decreasing number of feed enterprises was affected by the intensive production, massive imported meat in China and the transformation of the sales mode.  


GMO

What’s more, China is slowly also opening the market for genetically modified crops, which are still meeting hesitation and resistant in the population. The last two approved GMOs have been resistant corn by Syngenta and Monsanto, valuable for three years.  


Many GMOs are still waiting in line for approval, as China’s government is examining all kind of foreign GMO throughout. Many international enterprises are complaining about the lack of transparency and slow process in the review process. The country is explaining the measurement with the concerns about GMO resistant in the Chinese population.  


The approval of GMOs is restricted to the use of crops in the animal feed industry, but prohibited for any planting or reproducing in China. In the face of China’s growing middle class and therefore a boosting demand for meat and livestock products, the country is searching for ways to ensure the supply of all demanded food, where GMOs will play a key role to ensure a healthy production in the future.  


About CCM

CCM is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & ingredients and life science markets.  


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