Following the release of their annual Global Feed Survey, and based on several industry requests, the research team behind Alltech recently completed a deeper dive into analyzing the growing aquaculture feed sector and the increased finisher feed prices worldwide.

Aidan Connolly, Chief Innovation Officer for Alltech, sat down with for an interview with AgWired on the results of the analysis.

“For the first time in the history of the world, the amount of fish we consume from farms is exceeding what we’re catching in the sea, and indeed fish and fish products overall are now exceeding the consumption of beef,” he said. “So its a very important industry to understand in more depth.”

China led 2015 global aquaculture feed production, with 17.3 million tonnes produced at an average cost per finisher diet of $850 USD, and the most expensive finisher diets originated from the Asia-Pacific region, with Korea at $1,800 and Japan at $1,700. Nearly 50 percent of survey responses indicated their region’s aqua finisher diets were more than $1,000 on average.

Shrimp accounted for 21 percent of aqua feed production worldwide, with 82 percent of shrimp production coming from Asia, and salmon feed production represented 11 percent of total aqua feed production. Other top species in terms of feed production include carp, catfish, and trout.

Alltech’s overall 2016 Global Feed Survey estimated that international feed tonnage has seen a two percent increase in the last year, reaching a total of 995.6 million metric tons. The analysis of five-year trends showed growth predominantly from the pig, poultry and aqua feed sectors. This data, as well as the continued increase in farmed fish consumption, will be a major topic of discussion at Alltech’s upcoming ONE symposium in Lexington, Kentucky.

“I think fish will continue to grow as a sector. Within fish, we are seeing all types of fish being consumed in larger quantities, not just salmon and shrimp, but some of the smaller species as well. There will be a shift towards more traceable systems of production, and most importantly there’s a shift away from the consumption of fish meal.”

Hear more about Alltech’s aquaculture study in my full interview with Aidan here:
Interview with Aidan Connolly, Alltech