NZ a dairy feed outlier

By Samantha Tennent

New Zealand and Ireland bucked the trend when it came to commercial dairy feed production last year, according to the 2023 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook report.

Most countries experienced a decline, mainly due to the high cost of feed combined with low milk prices, which caused farmers to reduce stock numbers as well as rely more on non-commercial feed sources. But higher milk prices in New Zealand and drought in Ireland increased demand.

Across the other sectors, increases in feed tonnage were reported in the aquaculture, broiler, layer and pet food sectors, and decreases were reported in the beef and pig sectors. And despite significant macroeconomic challenges that affected the entire supply chain, global feed production remained steady at 1.266 billion metric tonnes in 2022, which is only a 0.42% decrease from 2021’s estimates.

Europe was worst hit as it faced significant disease challenges, severe weather and the impacts of the invasion of Ukraine. The global covid-19 pandemic has had major impacts on the agrifood sector, contributing to supply chain challenges and accelerating the adoption of new technology and environmental sustainability practices.

Pet feed production had the highest increase among the sectors, with a global average rise in production of 7.25%. This significant increase is largely due to the rise in pet ownership during the pandemic. North America and Europe continue to be the top pet feedproducing regions.

The Alltech Agri-Food Outlook looks at data from 142 countries and more than 28,000 feed mills. Alltech works with feed mills and industry and government entities around the world to compile data and insights and offer a holistic look at the state of the industry.

Respondents said the biggest challenges affecting the agri-food sector in 2022 were inflation and the overall state of the economy, particularly the increased prices of raw materials, feed and food. Supply chain disruptions remain an obstacle for the agri-food industry across all regions, and animal diseases have disrupted feed production in more than 80% of countries.

Many regions reported that geopolitical tensions, particularly the invasion of Ukraine, have affected imports and exports, the supply chain and the cost of raw materials.

When it comes to consumer trends, 72% of respondents identified product prices and the economy as having the biggest impact on agri-food. Food security, dietary trends and animal welfare were also identified as having large impacts.

Survey respondents recognised that a variety of technologies are providing growth opportunities for the agri-food industry. Among the technologies making the biggest impact are nutritional solutions, biosecurity and the automation of labour including robotics.

Innovative technologies that increase efficiency and improve sustainability were cited by many survey participants as being highly promising and important. And efforts to improve environmental sustainability are impacting the feed/animal agriculture sector in most regions.

“The biggest opportunities for growth are sustainable solutions for production costs, research and development for more durable and productive agricultural products [to mitigate] climate change, and new agricultural production technologies,” said a respondent from Turkey.

MORE:

To access more data and insights from the 2023 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook, including an interactive global map, visit alltech.com/ agri-food-outlook.