The primary producing region for pig feed is Asia-Pacific, but, interestingly, this was also the only region that saw a decline in pig feed production, according to the Alltech Global Feed Survey for 2018.
Mongolia, Vietnam, China, New Zealand and Japan all saw decreases in pig feed production, contributing to the overall downturn, as per the Alltech findings.
From a tonnage standpoint, Europe saw the biggest growth in pig feed production, at about 2.2 million metric tons - Russia and Spain could nearly account for all of this, but others, including Finland, Denmark, France and Poland, also contributed, they said.
Latin America saw the greatest growth in pig feed as a percentage at 5%, with the largest growth seen in Mexico and Argentina.
Now in its eighth year, the latest annual Alltech Global Feed Survey drew upon data from 144 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills.
“The feed industry is difficult to assess in its entirety, but Alltech strives to connect with feed mills, industry associations, government entities and other feed authorities to collect as much information and data as possible in order to provide an evaluation of feed production in each new year.”
Two years ago, the feed industry crossed the threshold of one billion metric tons. Alltech said it expects such production to maintain an upward trajectory as the world’s population continues to grow, along with the middle class segment in developing countries, which is increasingly showing interest in protein consumption.
Overall, the feed industry grew by a strong 3% last year, to 1.103 billion metric tons, it noted. Pig feed accounted for 27% of that.
In terms of what the picture may look like in the coming years, the company said:
“Perhaps, someday, the advent of alternative proteins — such as lab-grown meats and plant proteins — will change the way we study the feed industry. Or maybe we will add a segment for insect protein. These are the concepts that will alter the feed industry in the future, forever changing the way we produce our food. For now, however, the Alltech Global Feed Survey is a snapshot of the industry as it is today,” said the authors.