Aidan Connolly, vice president of Alltech and director of Alltech’s annual Global Feed Tonnage Survey, told FeedNavigator at the recent IPPE event in Atlanta that poultry has a 46% share of global production. Sixty percent of all poultry feed tonnage is dedicated to broilers (272 million metric tons), with the rest fed to egg layers (144 million metric tons), turkeys (15 million metric tons), duck and other fowl (13.8 million metric tons).
Asia had the highest average cost of feed with chicken finisher diets around $480-$550 per ton.
The survey found that the total value of the feed industry exceeds $500 billion, higher than the previous estimate of $350 billion. This has been fueled by high feed prices but also the more accurate information collected by this survey. With an expected fall in feed prices in 2014, this value of the feed industry will likely not be as high in 2014.
The third annual assessment survey, which began in 2011, is obtained by leveraging Alltech’s global presence to obtain a finer estimate of the world’s feed tonnage, an area where production statistics have traditionally been difficult to quantify, he explained.
By species
Beyond poultry’s dominance, pig feed increased by 11%, moving to 243 million metric tons globally. Asia dominated pig feed production, accounting for 113 million metric tons, with pig finisher diets averaging around $524 per ton. Next up was Europe with 70 million metric tons, and North America with 32 million metric tons.
The ruminant market, comprising dairy, beef and small ruminants, decreased in tonnage demand between late 2012 and December 2013. These animal sectors have the most alternative feed materials to switch to, including grazing and forages, when grain prices rise. Europe leads the ruminant feed market with 67 million metric tons, followed by the US with 48 million metric tons, and Asia on 38 million metric tons.
Aquaculture was the star performer again, with a 17% increase in 2013 to 40.4 million metric tons. Again, Asia is the dominant region, accounting for 77% of the total market. Europe is a long way behind in second with 9.4%, followed by Latin America with 7.4%
“According to some reports, the global consumption total of farmed fish and shellfish exceeded beef on a weight basis for the first time,” said Connolly.
Fish are the most efficient species for feed conversion, he said, and Alltech and the industry are working towards removing fish meal and fish oil from fish feed.
Another notable sector was pet food, with 2013 tonnage remaining relatively flat from 2012. The 2013 figure was 20.7 million tons.
A summary of the 2014 Alltech Global Feed Survey findings, including graphs, may be downloaded at http://www.alltech.com/sites/default/files/alltechglobalfeedsummary2014.pdf.
