De Heus continues expansion in Myanmar

The production plant is targeting aquaculture produces, said the Dutch group, allowing farmers access to the affordable high-quality feeds needed to further improve the development of their farms. 

This new facility will produce more than 200,000 metric tons (Mt) of aqua feed each year and it is situated in Myaung, close to Yangon, the center of aquaculture production in the country.

It is the company’s third factory in Myanmar. 

De Heus began milling feed in the outskirts of Yangon in October 2016 after watching the market develop quickly in terms of animal protein, fish and milk, as Myanmar emerged from years in the economic wilderness. 

The company opened a second feed mill in Mandalay in Myanmar with a capacity of 280,000 Mt per year in May 2018.

As well as the expansion projects undertaken by the De Heus group, other recent feed mill developments in that Asian market include the opening of a new factory by Korean backed company, CJ Feed Myanmar Co., Ltd, in Yangon, in December last year.

Feed demand ​

In April this year, a GAINS report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted domestic corn demand in Myanmar was expected to increase due the establishment of new feed mills in line with continued development of the poultry sector, which the US agency said is likely to increase 13-15% annually.

Myanmar livestock feed demand, it said, was estimated at 2.5 MMT in 2018, including 1.2m Mt tons of commercial livestock feed. About 70% of raw livestock feed demand comes from the poultry sector, and 25% from the swine sector, according to data from the Myanmar Livestock Federation (MLF)).

Domestic corn fills an estimated 35-40% of total feed demand, but varies according to age of poultry, nutrition formula by feed mills, feeding methods and domestic prices.

The USDA predicted that Myanmar’s livestock feed demand will jump to 3m Mt in 2020.