January 27, 2016
Growth in Eastern Europe feed production a key highlight of Alltech feed survey
The sharp growth seen in Eastern Europe''s feed production was a key highlight of Alltech''s 2016 Global Feed Survey, which was in its sixth year running.
The survey estimates international feed tonnage now at 995.5 million tonnes, a 1.5% increase over last year and a 14% increase since Alltech first published the survey results in 2011.
The Global Feed Survey assesses the compound feed production from more than 130 countries through information obtained in partnership with local feed associations and Alltech''s sales team, who visit more than 32,000 feed mills annually.
"Having met with groups such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome and the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF), Alltech appreciates how difficult it is to collect and collate this data, but also how valuable it is on our journey to feed a planet with more than nine billion people by 2050," Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer of Alltech said.
At the 2016 International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, Georgia, Connolly further revealed to eFeedLink that it was in Rome five years ago that he as a delegate of the IFIF, heard from the Federation that there were no "no good feed statistics then", and the only such statistics was produced by Watt Global Media.
"We then thought: with our 600 sales staff in 130 countries, why not produce the survey results? Our motivation was to help the industry, policy makers, and governments make decisions based on real numbers, because if they don''t, our customers and Alltech will be affected. So this initiative could be seen as somewhat altruistic, while at the same time helping our customers and our business," Connolly added.
The analysis of five-year trends showed growth predominantly from the pig, poultry and aqua feed sectors and intensification of production in the African, Middle Eastern, Latin American and eastern European regions.
Europe''s 5,545 feed mills, with Russia''s contributions, augmented their production by 22% in 2015 compared to the previous year. The Middle East demonstrated a 17% increase with 21.438 million tonnes from the region''s 719 mills. Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America were up 5, 4 and 3% respectively while North America remained flat.
Commenting on a particular feedback received on the survey results, Connolly pointed out, "The feed industry is an excellent barometer of economic health and, based on our five years of data, predicts economic growth more accurately than many other indices."
The 2016 survey showed feed production for poultry is growing faster than for any other species, with 46% of total global feed manufactured specifically for broilers, layers, turkeys, duck and other fowl. Poultry feed production continues to surge with a 5% increase, now at 463.69 million tonnes.
This year''s survey also confirmed that corn and soybean meal are the standard feed ingredients globally.
The top 10 feed producers in the world remained the same: China, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India, Spain, Russia, Germany, Japan and France. As a region, Europe saw the most growth, up 13 million tonnes over last year, with the largest contributions coming from Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Poland.
Down 2% from last year, China still holds the title of leading feed producer in Alltech''s annual feed survey with 179.930 million tonnes manufactured throughout the country''s 8,550 feed mills. However, this is the third year the world''s leader has reported a consolidation of its feed tonnage production into a smaller number of feed mills.
According to Connolly, the consolidation of feed production into fewer mills is driven by many factors. "The Chinese, in particular, see a benefit of having fewer feed mills-lower cost, more efficient and easier to control from the perspective of traceability and food safety," Connolly said.
Although growth in Asia is largely affected by China, the region as a whole continued to experience strong growth as predicted by Alltech, with the exception of Malaysia and Taiwan. India, in particular, became the world''s fourth largest feed producing country in 2015, surpassing Mexico. "This is a very big story, considering that India was not even in the top 10 three years ago," Connolly remarked.
A summary of the 2016 Alltech Global Feed Survey findings, including a recording of the webinar with Aidan Connolly, a booklet of the results and an interactive map, is available at: http://www.cnchemicals.com/