Aquafeed market

Fish require energy and essential nutrients for body-maintenance, movement, normal metabolic functions, and growth. Fish can obtain their energy and nutrients from natural food in ponds, from feed supplied by the farmers or from a combination of both the sources. Feed is a major expenditure for fish farmers as it accounts for 40% - 50% of the production cost. The global market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 11.7% from 2013 to 2018, reaching 82,390.5 KMT by 2018.

The global market has grown exponentially in the last few years and a similar trend is expected to follow for the next 5-7 years. Leading companies are focusing on launching of new products for expansion of the business in local as well as foreign market. Investment and expansion is the second most preferred growth strategy after new product launches.

Asia-Pacific and Europe are the leading consumers of Aqua feed together accounting for more than 70% of the consumption on a global scale. Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing region in terms of revenue. Growth is particularly high in countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, and Ecuador. Fish accounts for the maximum consumption of aquafeeds. The feed composition of most of the fish consists for fish meal, soybean meal, and fish oil. Recently, the use of rice, wheat, and corn-based products has also become common. There is no major difference between feed composition of fish and crustaceans. The mollusks feed consists primarily of algae.

The global market is driven by many factors such as growth in Aquaculture industry, increased consumption of fish and sea food, flexibility in use of secondary raw materials, and increasing income of expanding middle class in developing nations. The main obstacles in the growth of global market are the rising cost of raw materials and strict regulatory structure. Other reason, which is restricting the farmers from switching to the Aqua feed, is the high cost.

To capitalize on the growth trend in the global market, several leading animal feed companies are making efforts towards research & development and manufacturing of Aqaufeeds. Furthermore, animal feed companies are gradually expanding their product offerings within this product line to meet the growing demand for Aquafeeds. We have profiled leading players which operate within this industry, and have presented an overview of their recent developments and other strategic initiatives. Some of these companies include: Nutreco N.V. (The Netherlands), Norel Animal Nutrition (Spain), BioMar Group (Denmark), Dibaq Acuicultura (Spain), Aller Aqua (Denmark), and Ridley Corporation Limited (Australia).

Globally, market is witnessing steady growth on account of increasing demand for high-quality sea food, growth in aquaculture industry, increased income of middle class population in developing nation and flexibility to use raw materials depending on availability. Aqua feed have proven advantages over farm made feeds in terms of enhanced nutrition, increased yield, and quality of fish. In addition, these are less harmful to the environment as they cause less pollution. These positive attributes of Aquafeeds are viewed as excellent business opportunity in a steadily growing animal feeds market. This has attracted many multinational feed producing companies to make a foray into production and marketing of Aquafeeds.

In 2012, fish feeds accounted for major market share followed by crustacean feeds. The increase in fish farming activities and aquaculture has led to increased demand for fish feeds. Usage of aquafeeds for other fish types like frogs, turtles, sea urchins etc. is also increasing at end-use level. Many major players operating in this marketplace are focusing on Asia-Pacific region for business expansion as the increasing rate of awareness among the farmer and increasing area under aquaculture has triggered the demand for Aquafeeds.

The global market was at $55,685.0 million in 2012 and is expected to reach $106,695.7 million by 2018, growing at the CAGR of 12.1% from 2013 to 2018. On a global scale, Asia-Pacific is the dominating consumer geography for Aqua feed. The consumption growth is particularly high in countries such as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia because of increased consumption of sea food, increased income of middle class and growth in aquaculture industry.

Key participants in the global market include Nutriad (Belgium), Cargill (U.S.), BioMar A/S (Denmark), Aller Aqua A/S (Denmark), Avanti Feeds (India), and Nutreco NV (The Netherlands). The global aquafeeds market is witnessing rapid developments in the areas of new product launches and collaborations. Leading companies are focusing on expansion of respective businesses across high-growth regions and setting up new manufacturing plants for increasing production capacities along with broadening of product line.

Source: www.marketsandmarkets.com