Poultry at top of livestock feed industry pecking order

With the advent of globalization and rise in the standard of living of consumers in the Southeast Asian country, companies are expanding in the market with improved products and wider range of options, said Hoang Thanh Van.

Mr Van, who heads up the Animal Breeding Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that poultry is the most rapidly growing of all protein dietary sources by far outperforming pork, beef and fish.

This in turn, he added, creates vast opportunity in the poultry feed segment for domestic sector companies.

Poultry Feed Market: Drivers & Restraints

The rising family per capita income of households and widespread poultry diseases that create a more limited supply around the globe are the major driving factors of the poultry feed market in Vietnam.

In addition, the growth of domestic and international fast service restaurants throughout the country has elevated demand for quality protein products and in turn has contributed to the rising need for poultry feed in the country.

Rising family household incomes has also spawned an increase in a shift in eating habits so that families are now eating away from home much more often than in the past— and at higher end restaurants that demand premium quality meat, poultry and fish.

Food manufacturers are also now starting to more closely coordinate with the factory farmers to direct them towards higher yield of poultry thereby increasing their earnings ratios, more commonly referred to as return on investment or ROI for short, said Nguyen Thanh Son.

Mr Son, who is the head of the National Institute of Animal Husbandry, said that as a result, there are ample opportunities for domestic sector companies to get into this rapidly expanding scientifically based segment and compete on an equal footing with foreign multinationals.

Poultry Feed Market: Segmentation

The various type of poultry feed additives available in the Vietnamese market consists of antibiotics, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, feed enzymes and feed acidifiers, said Mr Son.

The global regional segmentation of the poultry feed segment includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific, which includes Vietnam, is the largest market followed by North America.

Based on type, the poultry feed market can be segmented as broilers, layers, turkey and others. In Vietnam, broilers are the most preferred category and antibiotics fall under the largest category under the feed additives segment.

Poultry Feed Market: Market Overview

Top quality poultry feed, said Mr Son, is required to increase the feed conversion ratio by improving gut micro flora thereby enhancing animal health. It also maintains animal health by preventing diseases among them.

Domestic sector manufacturers looking to get into the segment must concentrate more on marketing and selling in the developing markets in countries such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Lebanon and Turkey.

These markets offer greater opportunities to increase revenue and sales with higher per capita expenditure on quality food. Moreover, it is a proven fact that countries going through periods of rising per capita income offer greater opportunity.

It is generally accepted as fact that at per capita income rises, people tend to consume more and higher quality meat, poultry and fish protein, said Nguyen Van Giap from the Southern Centre for Agriculture Policy and Strategy

This in turn drives demand for top quality feed additives.

Numerous authorities, said Mr Giap, have forecast that the poultry feed market in Vietnam is expected to grow at healthy compound annual growth rates as high as 20% through 2020, making this a golden opportunity for domestic businesses desiring to get into the market.