The 2019 "Alltech Global Feed Survey," released Jan. 29, estimates that international feed tonnage increased by a strong 3% to 1.103 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2018, exceeding 1 billion mt for the third consecutive year.

Alltech said the eighth edition of the annual survey includes data from 144 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills.

The global feed industry has seen 14.6% growth over the past five years, equating to an average of 2.76% per annum, according to Alltech. As the population grows, so does the middle class, which is reflected in an increase in overall protein consumption and, hence, more demand for animal feed.

According to the 2019 survey, the top eight countries for feed production in 2018 were China, the U.S., Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Together, these countries produced 55% of the world’s feed production and contain 59% of the world’s feed mills. Therefore, Alltech noted that they can be viewed as an indicator of the trends in agriculture.

Globally, predominant growth came from the layer, broiler and dairy feed sectors, Alltech said, noting that results varied by region.

“Alltech works together with feed mills, industry and government entities around the world to compile data and insights to provide an assessment of feed production each year,” Alltech president and chief executive officer Dr. Mark Lyons said. “We are proud to present the eighth annual 'Alltech Global Feed Survey' and share the results publicly to demonstrate the importance of the animal feed industry as we strive to provide for a planet of plenty.”

The survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2018. It is an estimate and is intended to serve as an information resource for policy-makers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders, the company said.

Regional results

According to Alltech, North America saw steady growth of 2% over the previous year due to an increase in the major species, with beef and broilers leading the growth at 3% each. The U.S. remained the second-largest feed-producing country globally, behind China. Feed prices in North America are the lowest globally across all species, and with the availability of land, water and other resources, the region is expected to remain a primary contributor to feed production, Alltech said.

As a region, Latin America was relatively stagnant this year, Alltech said, noting that Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce the majority of feed in Latin America, with 76% of regional feed production. Brazil stayed flat, while Mexico and Argentina saw growth of 1% and 4%, respectively. Colombia’s feed production grew by approximately 8%, primarily due to an increase in pork and egg production.

Alltech noted that several countries in Latin America saw a decline in feed production, such as Venezuela (-27%), El Salvador (-16%) and Chile (-8).

Alltech reported that Europe saw overall growth of about 4% over 2017, making it the second-fastest-growing region in the survey, resulting from feed production increases for layers (7%), broilers (5%), aquaculture (5%), dairy (4%) and swine (3%). Beef was the only primary protein species to decline in Europe, although the drop was less than 1%.

Much of Europe’s growth can be attributed to smaller countries, such as Turkmenistan, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which all saw increases in overall production estimates of 20% or more, Alltech said. Additionally, larger producing countries like Russia, Spain and Turkey saw strong increases in feed production estimates, which added to the overall production growth.

The Asia Pacific region is home to several of the top 10 feed-producing countries, including China, India and Japan, and accounted for more than 36% of the world’s feed tonnage. China maintained its status as the top feed-producing country in the world, with production of 187.89 million mt.

Increased production for Asia Pacific came from India, up 13% due to growth in dairy, layer and broiler feeds. Other countries that demonstrated higher growth variance included Pakistan, Myanmar and Laos. Southeast Asia represented more than 20% of the Asia Pacific region’s total feed production, with Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand contributing to 93% of Southeast Asia’s feed production.

According to Alltech, Africa continued to see strong growth, with a 5% increase in overall feed production, and no country in the region saw a decline. Morocco demonstrated strong growth across dairy, beef, layers, broilers and turkeys. The areas that declined for feed production were equine (-4%) and pets (-14%), the company said, but these two areas represent a very small proportion of Africa’s overall production, so the impact was very minimal. Most of the major animal production species in ruminants and poultry contributed to the region's overall production growth.

Species results

In the poultry industry, major growth areas for layer feed included Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, Alltech said. In Europe, Poland and Uzbekistan each saw growth of around 200,000 mt. Within Latin America, increases were seen in Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. In the Asia Pacific region, South Korea, India and Indonesia all saw growth of several-hundred metric tons. North America experienced overall growth of 2%, with both the U.S. and Canada seeing production increases. Africa saw a small decrease in layer production due to declines in both Egypt and Seychelles.

Globally, broiler production increased by approximately 3% in 2018. All regions saw growth except for Latin America, where a very small decline was observed. Africa showed 9% growth, demonstrating an overall trend that, as populations grow and become wealthier, so does the interest in protein — particularly in palatable chicken.

Pig feed production saw an increase of nearly 1% in 2018. The primary producing region for pig feed is Asia Pacific, but this was also the only region that saw a decline in pig feed production as Mongolia, Vietnam, China, New Zealand and Japan experienced decreases. From a tonnage standpoint, Europe saw the largest growth, at approximately 2.2 mmt. Russia and Spain accounted for the majority, while Finland, Denmark, France and Poland also contributed. Latin America saw the greatest percentage growth in pig feed, at 5%, with the greatest growth seen in Mexico and Argentina.

Global dairy feed production saw growth in North America, Europe and Africa, while Latin America remained flat. Europe, a global leader in dairy production, grew by an average of approximately 4%. The largest increase was in Turkey, with 10%, while Ireland, Russia and the U.K. also contributed to the region’s growth in dairy feed. Africa’s dairy feed growth was primarily due to a significant increase in both Morocco and Nigeria.

North America has always led in beef feed production and continued to do so with an increase of 3% in 2018. Europe saw a small decline at barely 1% and remained in second place. Latin America saw strong growth of approximately 8%, with Mexico and Argentina being the primary contributors. As a result, the Latin American region has taken third place in beef feed production, moving ahead of the Asia Pacific region. China and Australia both saw growth within the Asia Pacific region but could not offset the overall decline in countries such as Bangladesh, Mongolia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Pakistan, Alltech said.

Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4% from the previous year, Alltech said. This was primarily attributed to strong increases in the Asia Pacific and European regions. The traditional Asia Pacific leaders in aquaculture — Vietnam, India and Indonesia — combined for an additional 1.58 mmt of feed in the region, while China, the region’s leader, also saw an increase of 1% over last year. The primary European leaders either experienced strong growth or remained relatively flat. Those that did grow included Norway and Turkey, both at 7%, and Spain at a substantial 31%. The other regions remained relatively flat or saw only a 1% increase or decrease in feed production, demonstrating the continuity of the industry as a whole.

The pet food sector saw growth of approximately 1%, primarily attributed to an increase in the Asia Pacific region, which was offset by a decrease in the Latin American and African regions. North America and the Middle East both remained relatively flat. Europe produced an estimated 8.6 mmt in total in 2018, approximately 200,000 behind North America.

To access more data and insights from the 2019 "Alltech Global Feed Survey," including the results booklet, an interactive global map and a prerecorded video presentation of the results, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com.