Aqua feed is a blend of additives, raw materials, and other supplements, obtained from synthetic or natural resources and are served to farmed fish. Mostly used raw materials include fishmeal, soybean meal, fish oil, and carp. The global aquafeed market is expected to be mainly fueled by the rising seafood’s direct consumption and the growing stipulation for aqua products during the forecast period.
The growing stipulation for animal by-products, like shrimp meals, fish meals, and squid meals are also projected to surge market growth. However, limitations on manufacturing activities owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have slowed down the supply of feed and its additives. Nevertheless, the growing awareness among about health benefits and growing incidence of diseases like blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, & heart problems, among people will incline customer attention to the intake of protein-rich diet, thereby propelling market growth. In addition, the growing alertness about the significance of omega-3 in everyday diet is projected to boost the market expansion in the years to come.
The global aquafeed market can be divided by additives, end consumption, and region. The market, by end consumption, is segregated into crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and others. Among these, a rise in demand has been observed for mollusks and fish owing to the growing levels of income and need for protein rich healthy food products. The market, by additives, is bifurcated into antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, binders, and acidifiers.
Geographically, a majority share of the global aquafeed market is captured by Asia Pacific and is also projected to govern the market during the forecast period. The regional expansion can be credited to factors such as the flourished aquaculture production in this region, mainly in China, along with the species durability, ease of fish farming, and better quality of water in closed farm systems.
Some of the prominent players active within the global aquafeed market include Norel Animal Nutrition, Alltech Inc., BioMar A/S, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), BASF SE, Nutriad International, ADDCON, Aller Aqua A/S, Dibaq A.S., Novus International, Growel Feeds, Alicorp, Biomin Holding Gmbh, Ridley Corporation, DSM, Avanti Feeds Ltd., Beneo Ingredients GmbH, Evonik Industries, Cargill, Inc., Purina Animal Nutrition LLC, De Heus Animal Nutrition, NK Ingredients Pte. Ltd., and Skretting.
Key players are procuring market share expansively by launching new aqua-feed plants. To cite, in 2020, a new aqua-feed plant was established by BioMar in Australia by spending Euro 40 million. The production unit will yield up to 110,000 tons per year of aquafeed to back the Oceania and Australian aqua industry.
