Global animal feed production remains steady in 2023

​The trends are confirmed in a 2024 Agri-Food Survey, which has just been published by the international animal nutrition business, Alltech.

According to the new figures, global animal feed production in 2023 amounted to 1.29 billion metric tonnes (BMT), a slight decrease of 2.6 million metric tonnes (MMT) - or 0.2% - from 2022’s estimates.

The annual Alltech survey, now in its 13th year, includes data from 142 countries and more than 27,000 feed mills.

The overall lower demand for feed was due, in part, to the more efficient use of feed made possible by intensive production systems that focus on using animal nutrition, farm management and other technologies to lower feed intake while producing the same amount of protein, or more.

A slowdown in the overall production of animal protein, in response to tight margins experienced by many feed and animal protein companies, also contributed to lower feed demand.

Changing consumption patterns caused by inflation and dietary trends, higher production costs and geopolitical tensions also influenced feed production in 2023.

The top 10 feed-producing countries are: China (262.71 MMT, +0.76% year on year), the U.S. (238.09 MMT, 1.13% year on year), Brazil (83.32 MMT, +1.84% year on year), India (52.83 MMT, +13.43% V), Mexico (40.42 MMT, +0.02% V), Russia (35.46 MMT, +3.83% year on year), Spain (27.53 MMT, -11.88% year on year), Vietnam (24.15 MMT, -9.63% year on year), Japan (23.94 MMT, -1.15% year on year) and Türkey (23.37 MMT, -11.48% year on year).

Together, the top 10 countries produced 63.1% of the world’s feed production in 2023, the same as in 2022.

However, almost half of the world’s global feed production is concentrated in four countries: China, the U.S., Brazil and India.

In terms of the various sectors, poultry saw a year on year increase in broiler feed of +3.5%.

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It was a case of steady as she goes for the layers’ sector.

Broiler feed now accounts for 29.9% of the total feed tonnage in the world thanks to a 3.5% increase in overall tonnage in 2023.

While this growth was not uniform across all regions, the poultry sector is poised to keep holding strong in 2024 thanks to a combination of regional successes and global market dynamics.

Some of the biggest factors that will contribute to the resilience of the broiler sector include reduced costs for inputs, such as feed and energy, and increases in margins and profitability.

For layers, there are industry-wide efforts to optimize feed efficiency and to keep pace with changing dietary trends and new purchasing power. Some markets around the globe were significantly impacted by macroeconomic challenges and disease outbreaks, which can disrupt production cycles.

However, the general outlook for the layers’ industry remains positive thanks to its resilience in the face of difficult circumstances, when other protein sectors often struggle to adapt.

According to Alltech analysts, the international poultry sector is poised for continued strength, driven by a blend of regional successes and global market dynamics.

Where pigs are concerned, the feed production sector faced many challenges in 2023. These led to an overall decrease in pig feed production of 1.23%. Latin America stood out as the only region that achieved an increase in pig feed production in 2023.

Meanwhile, international dairy feed tonnage decreased by 2.3% in 2023. This was primarily due to the high cost of feed combined with low milk prices.

As a result, farmers had farmers to make strategic adjustments that included reducing their cow numbers and/or relying more on non-commercial feed sources.

Significantly, global beef feed production decreased by 4.36% in 2023. This was the most pronounced downward change among all species sectors last year.

Changes in cattle cycles in the United States and stricter sustainability policies in Europe had major impacts on these figures, with the Asia-Pacific beef sector notably surpassing Europe’s in 2023 in terms of feed output.

Looking ahead, the Alltech Agri-Food Survey points to an expected growth in global feed production during 2024.

This is a result of market conditions improving as input costs ease and consumers adapt to uncertainties.

Production growth is likely to remain robust in Brazil and accelerate in Southeast Asia, with marginal increases expected in China and Oceania. Latin America is expected to lead production growth in 2024 but at a slower rate than in 2023.

Meanwhile compound feed sales in Northern Ireland totalled 2.648 million tonnes in 2023.

Cattle and calf feed accounted for approximately half of this figure.

Compound poultry feed sales here in 2023 amounted to approximately 906,000 tonnes: the

equivalent figure for the pig sector was 230,000 tonnes.

Northern Ireland’s overall compound feed sales’ figure for 2023 was approximately 2% up on the previous year’s level.