The 2020 Alltech Global Feed Surveyestimates that international feed tonnage decreased by 1.07% to 1.126 billion metric tonnes last year, largely due to African swine fever (ASF).

The top nine feed-producing countries are the U.S., 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.

The biggest change in 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 

• North America: The U.S. is the largest feed-producing country globally with an estimated 214 million metric tons (MMT), with beef 61.09 MMT, broilers 48.525 MMT and pigs 44.86 MMT. North America saw steady growth of 1.6% over last year. Canada produced 21.6 MMT with pigs 8.23 MMT, broilers 3.25 MMT and dairy 4.2 MMT.

• Latin America:As a region, Latin America saw 2.2% growth to 167.9 MMT. 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 MMT and pigs 17.0 MMT. 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 three feed-producing countries in Europe are Russia 40.5 MMT, Spain 34.8 MMT and Germany 25.0 MMT, 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 African swine fever and large declines in pig feed production. China’s feed production declined by almost 20 MMT of feed overall to 167.9 MMT and fell from the top feed-producing country globally to second, behind the U.S. India and Japan remained in the top nine feed-producing countries, with similar production compared to 2018 with 39.0 MMT and 25.3 MMT, 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 results

• Pigfeed production was greatly impacted by African swine fever, 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 MMT and layer 73.1 MMT feed. In Latin America, total broiler production amounted to 60.8 MMT, with Brazil leading the region with 32.1 MMT followed by Mexico with 10.5 MMT, while Mexico’s layer feed production increased by 11% to 7.05 MMT and surpassed Brazil. Russia leads Europe with 10.86 MMT of the total region’s 56.3 MMT of broiler feed and 5.3 MMT of the region’s total of 33.5 MMT of layer feed. In North America, the U.S. accounts for 94% of the broiler feed with 48.5 MMT, while layer feed in Canada increased by 460,000 metric tons. 

• Europe leads global dairyfeed 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 MMT, Germany 5.2 MMT, Russia 4.2 MMT, the U.K. 3.8 MMT, France 3.4 MMT, the Netherlands 3.3. MMT and Spain 3.2 MMT.

• North America continues to lead global beeffeed production with 62.3 MMT, followed by Europe 21.9 MMT and Latin America 13.9 MMT. 

• Overall, aquaculturefeeds showed growth of 4% over last year. Per ton, Asia-Pacific grew the most with an additional 1.5 MMT. 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%). By country, increases were seen in China, Indonesia, Portugal, Hungary, Ecuador and Argentina.

To access insights from the 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including a recording of the panel discussion, an interactive map and presentation slides, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com.