The annual Alltech Global Feed Survey, released on Jan. 27, estimates that international feed tonnage decreased by 1.07% to 1.126 billion tonnes of feed produced in 2019, due largely to African swine fever (ASF) and the decline of pig feed in the Asia-Pacific region.

It was the first decline in global production since Alltech began the annual survey nine years ago.

The top nine feed-producing countries, according to the survey, are the United States, China, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany. Together, these countries produce 58% of the world’s feed production and contain 57% of the world’s feed mills, and they can be viewed as an indicator of overall trends in agriculture. China had been the top feed-producing country, but its pork industry was rocked by ASF, which resulted in the culling of about half of its pig herd.

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and chief executive officer of Alltech, shared the survey results via public livestream from Alltech’s global headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky, U.S.

“2019 presented extreme challenges to the feed industry, with one of the most significant being African swine fever,” Lyons said. “The regional and global implications are reflected by the Alltech Global Feed Survey and the decline in global feed production. While pig feed production is down in affected countries, we are noting increased production both in other species as producers work to supplement the protein demand, and in non-affected countries as exports ramp up. The damage caused by ASF will have long-term implications, and we expect that the top protein sources will continue to shift as our industry adapts to the shortage.”

The global data, collected from 145 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills, indicates feed production by species as: broilers 28%; pigs 24%; layers 14%; dairy 12%; beef 10%; other species 6%; aquaculture 4%; and pets 2%. Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler, aqua and pet feed sectors.

Regional results

The following are regional results from the survey.

• North America: The United States is the largest feed-producing country globally with an estimated 214 million tonnes, with beef (61.09 million tonnes), broilers (48.525 million tonnes) and pigs (44.86 million tonnes) as the leading species. North America saw steady growth of 1.6% over last year. Canada produced 21.6 million tonnes with pigs (8.23 million tonnes), broilers (3.25 million tonnes) and dairy (4.2 million tonnes) leading species feed production.
• Latin America: As a region, Latin America saw 2.2% growth to 167.9 million tonnes. Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally, with the primary species for feed production being broilers (32.1 million tonnes) and pigs (17.0 million tonnes). Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce the majority of feed in Latin America with 76% of regional feed production.
• Europe: Europe remained relatively stagnant with a slight increase of 0.2% over last year. The top feed-producing countries in Europe are Russia (40.5 million tonnes), Spain (34.8 million tonnes) and Germany (25 million tonnes), with pig feed production leading the way in all three countries. The ruminant sector was hit the hardest as both dairy and beef numbers are estimated to be down by 4% and 3%, respectively. This was offset primarily by strong growth in the aqua (7%) and layer (3%) industries.
• Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region saw feed production decrease by 5.5% in 2019, primarily due to ASF and large declines in pig feed production. China’s feed production declined by almost 20 million tonnes of feed overall to 167.9 million tonnes and fell from the top feed-producing country globally to second, behind the United States. India and Japan remained in the top nine feed-producing countries, with similar production compared to 2018 with 39 million tonnes and 25.3 million tonnes, respectively, while Vietnam declined by 7%.
• Africa: Africa continued strong growth with a 7.5% increase in overall feed production, with all the primary species seeing positive growth. The top five feed-producing countries in the region account for 75% of Africa’s feed production, and they are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Algeria. The region’s primary species include broiler, layer and dairy, and combined, they account for nearly half of feed production estimates in the region.

Species trends

The survey also focused on trends in species that consume feed.

Pig feed production was greatly impacted by ASF, with an 11% decrease. The primary producing region for pig feed remains Asia-Pacific, but it also experienced the largest decline of 26%, with China (-35%), Cambodia (-22%), Vietnam (-21%) and Thailand (-16%) experiencing large decreases. 

Europe, North America and Latin America remained relatively stable compared to last year, within a percentage point’s worth of gain or loss. While Africa is a small region from a tonnage standpoint for pig feed, it showed a large increase of 29%. 

In the poultry sector, Asia-Pacific is the leader in both broiler (115.2 million tonnes) and layer (73.1 million tonnes) feed. In Latin America, total broiler production amounted to 60.8 million tonnes, with Brazil leading the region with 32.1 million tonnes followed by Mexico with 10.5 million tonnes, while Mexico’s layer feed production increased by 11% to 7.05 million tonnes and surpassed Brazil. Russia leads Europe with 10.86 million tonnes of the total region’s 56.3 million tonnes of broiler feed and 5.3 million tonnes of the region’s total of 33.5 million tonnes of layer feed. In North America, the United States accounts for 94% of the broiler feed with 48.5 million tonnes, while layer feed in Canada increased by 460,000 tonnes.

Europe leads global dairy feed production with 34% followed by North America (21.8%), Asia-Pacific (17.6%) and Latin America (15.3%). The top dairy feed-producing countries are Turkey (6.5 million tonnes), Germany (5.2 million tonnes), Russia (4.2 million tonnes), and the U.K. (3.8 million tonnes).

North America continues to lead global beef feed production with 62.3 million tonnes, followed by Europe (21.9 million tonnes) and Latin America (13.9 million tonnes).

Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4% over last year. Per tonne, Asia-Pacific grew the most with an additional 1.5 million tonnes. The primary contributors were China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Europe’s decrease is in large part due to decreased feed production in Russia, which is primarily due to an increase in imports.

The pet food sector saw growth of 4% with the largest tonnage increases in Asia-Pacific (10%), Europe (3%) and Latin America (6%).

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 2019. It is an estimate serving as a resource for policymakers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders.