Animal feed is essentially food prepared for livestock or poultry use. These products are carefully formulated and blended with a variety of nutritious elements that are vital for animal health. Common feeds include cereal grains, pasture grasses, hay and silage crops, and other food crop byproducts such as pineapple bran, brewer’s grains, and sugar beet pulp. The animal feed business is made up of several areas, including cattle, poultry, and aquaculture.
Market Demand and Stats
• According to the World Bank’s 2022 report, requests for World Bank assistance for livestock operations have surged from an average of $150 million in yearly financing commitments at the start of the decade to about $700 million in new lending each year in the previous three years. The majority of expansion has occurred in Africa, South Asia, and Central Asia. Presently, the World Bank has $1.9 billion in active livestock investments.
• According to a 2021 FDA (Food and Drug Administration) report, the number of animal food firms registered with the FDA was 24,917, with 17,523 being domestic and 7,394 being international. Furthermore, total animal food imports were $2.79 billion, while exports were $5.49 billion. Imports account for around 5% of animal product sales in the US.
• According to a 2021 study from the International Feed Industry Federation, global compound feed output is now anticipated to reach slightly more than one billion tonnes per year. The global commercial feed production industry is worth more than $400 billion per year.
Additionally, according to the FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), livestock accounts for 40% of worldwide agricultural output and provides livelihoods, food, and nutrition security for about 1.3 billion people. According to OMR Research, the market will grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period (2020-2026), as a result of these factors.
Recent Developments
Considering animal health is critical, prominent market players such as Muyuan Foodstuff, Purina, CP Group, Nutreco, and others are supplying animal health-related meals and feeds to support market growth. These businesses are also engaged in market development operations such as mergers and acquisitions, new product launches, collaborations, and so on. Suguna Feeds, for instance, debuted its cow feed varieties MilkyBest+ and NutriBest in September 2021 at its feed factory in Ganapathipalayam, Udumalpet. Suguna Feeds, a pioneer in the poultry industry, has released new varieties that are available for purchase across India on its website in order to solve the issues encountered by farmers, such as the lack of consistent quality pellet feed, adulterated raw materials, and so on.
Key Drivers of the Market
Increasing Demand of Meat and Dairy Products
The worldwide animal feed sector is expanding rapidly. With rising demand for meat and dairy products, the necessity to produce more food has resulted in a rise in animal feed production. According to 2019 Our World in Data statistics, the world currently produces more than three times as much meat as it did fifty years ago. In 2018, meat output was estimated to be over 340 million tonnes. Furthermore, FAO projects that food consumption will increase by 60% by 2050 and that the output of animal proteins will increase by 1.7% each year between 2010 and 2050, with meat production increasing by almost 70%, aquaculture increasing by 90%, and dairy production increasing by 55%.
Increasing Use of AI and Technology for Sustainable Feed
Sustainable animal feed solutions boost growth and feed efficiency while also improving animal health and product quality. This also contributes to the market's expansion. For instance-
• In January 2023, Farmers Business Network (FBN), the global AgTech platform as well as farmer-to-farmer network, announced that FBN Livestock has partnered with Boveta Nutrition. With this partnership, the companies aim to deliver a proprietary feeding system for beef cattle that increases feed efficiency and carcass yield while decreasing methane gas emissions and wet waste. The enhanced feed formulation from Boveta Nutrition guarantees that nutrients are provided more accurately, allowing cattle to consume less feed while maintaining or even increasing gain or milk output.
• In September 2022, BASF and Evonik agreed to offer Evonik non-exclusive licensing rights to Opteinics, BASF's digital solution for increasing knowledge and reducing the environmental impact of the feed and animal protein sectors. Opteinics, a digital, ready-to-use sustainability platform, has been integrated into Evonik's worldwide feed consultancy services. Customers will be able to create more sustainable feed and animal protein by combining BASF's digital sustainability solution Opteinics with Evonik's revolutionary farm management tools and sustainability services.
Feed with Nutritional Value
Animal feeds with nutritional value and flavor are currently in demand to boost animal meal consumption. For instance, ADM, a worldwide leader in human and animal nutrition, announced the debut of two products under its SUCRAM line, an in-feed sweetening solution for livestock species, in November 2022. Pancosma, SUCRAM M'I Sweet, and SUCRAM Specifeek are sweeteners developed by ADM's worldwide feed additives division to increase the palatability of feed for young animals, notably weanling pigs. Palatants and sweeteners are excellent nutrition solutions for increasing feed intake and increasing producer efficiency while also improving animal health and well-being.