March 31, 2022

 

Major Chinese feed producers expanded market presence in 2021

The China Feed Industry Association announced that China's total feed output in 2021 was 293.443 million tonnes, a 16.1% increase over 2020.

 

The output of compound feed was 270.171 million tonnes, an increase of 17.1% compared with 2020; the output of concentrated feed was 15.511 million tonnes (+2.4%), and the output of premix feed was 6.631 million tonnes (+11.5%).

 

In terms of livestock, the output of pig feed was 130.765 million tonnes (+46.6%); the output of layer feed was 32.314 million tonnes (-3.6%); the output of broiler feed was 89.096 million tonnes (-2.9%); the output of ruminant feed was 14.803 million tonnes (+12.2%), and the output of aquafeed was 22.93 million tonnes (+8.0%).

 

According to eFeedLink statistics, the output of China's animal feed in 2021 was 257.896 million tonnes (+16.24%). Within this figure, the output of live pig compound feed was 107.649 million tonnes, (+49.36%). Live pig concentrated feed increased by only 11.83%, and live pig premix saw a 23.13% rise.

 

As for poultry, eFeedLink data show that the average number of layers in China diminished from 1.136 billion in 2020 to 1.110 billion in 2021, while the slaughter volume of broilers dropped from 13.671 billion in 2020 to 12.792 billion in 2021. Inevitably, the production and consumption of poultry feed decreased.

 

For China's ruminant sector, especially the dairy cattle segment, the industry has recovered rapidly in the past two years. This has helped ruminant feed consumption achieve double-digit increments.

 

Feed enterprises were seeing major changes in the last two years. Firstly, the recovery of pig farming and the growth of aquatic and ruminant feeds helped to boost the output of feed mills.

 

Secondly, there were 36 major feed companies with a production capacity of one million tonnes or higher (with the production capacity of six feed mills reaching 10 million tonnes or more) last year. The combined output of these feed mills totaled 180 million tonnes, 50% higher than 120 million tonnes in 2019. The number of feed mills owned by these major operators increased from 1,600 in 2019, to 1,800 in 2021.

 

Although competition is fierce in China's feed sector, the number of feed producers did not decrease over the past two years. The recovery of the Chinese hog sector is also expected to benefit medium and small feed producers.

 

- Shi Tao, eFeedLink