The Alltech Global Feed Survey came out this week and showed that international feed tonnage grew by three percent in 2018. The total of 1.103 billion metric tons topped the 1 billion-mark for a third-straight year. 

 

The eighth annual survey covers 144 countries and 30,000 feed mills. The global feed industry is 14 percent larger than it was five years ago. The eight biggest producers include China, the United States, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain, and Turkey. 

Together, these eight produce more than half of the world’s feed production and contain 59 percent of the world’s feed mills. 

 

Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler, and dairy feed sectors. 

Specific region results show that North America saw steady growth of more than two percent last year, with beef and broilers leading the growth at three percent each. 

 

The U.S. remained the second-largest feed producer in the world, behind only China. North America has the lowest feed prices in the world across all species. 

 

Elsewhere, Latin America was relatively stagnant last year while the European Union grew four percent. Africa continued a strong growth pattern with a five percent increase in feed production.