Aquafeed is vital to the aquaculture sector due to its nutritional and immunity-building properties. High-quality aquafeed is more suitable for aquatic animals compared to farm-made feed as they provide balanced and need-specific nutritional qualities.

A report published by Allied Market Research states that the global aquafeed market is expected to reach $131.92 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2021 to 2030. Rise in global seafood consumption and increase in consumer preference for quality seafood products drive the market growth. Moreover, the per capita income of consumers across the world has increased, especially in developing countries, which is anticipated to boost the growth of the aquaculture and aquafeed industries.

Apart from these, the market has witnessed a few trends such as innovation in aquafeed products and mergers & acquisition, expansion, and partnership between major companies in the market. 

Several companies joined forces to fulfil the demand for aquafeed and produce high protein quality products. A partnership was recently formed between Green Plains Inc. and Optimal Fish Food LLC. Their new joint venture, Optimal Aquafeed is formed to manufacture high-quality aquaculture products using proprietary techniques and high-protein ingredients.

The partnership blends the production abilities and skills of Green Plains Inc. and the intellectual property, expertise, and customer base of Optimal Fish Food to improve the nutritional value of aquafeed products. The partnership will combine high-quality agricultural items with algae, plant-based proteins, and other single-cell protein ingredients to meet the increasing demand for aquafeed.

Similarly, Cargill and The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute, a U.S. research center, partnered to develop high-performance RAS aquafeed. The institute offers Cargill's team access to fish, research facilities, along with cooperation from the research institute's team of scientists, engineers, and fish culturists. Moreover, Cargill will offer advanced diet improvement and aquafeed to boost the growth and immunity of aquaculture.

Apart from this, another company in the aquafeed industry, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) is ready to raise its ownership in CP Pokphand (CPP), a Hong Kong-listed branch of the company, which operates in Vietnam and China.The company earned $1.34 billion through sales from its Vietnam operations in the first half of 2021. Out of this, $525 million revenue was generated from the feeding production and the aquafeed production contributed to the largest portion of the revenue. The company experienced growth in the sales of aquafeed products as aqua-farmers have increased the production of shrimps to meet the customer and market demands.

FRUITFUL RESEARCHES IN AQUAFEED PRODUCTS:

Alfalfa is a common food ingredient for dairy cows, beef cattle, and horses, but it can be used as aquafeed due to its protein concentrate. The researchers at the University of Minnesota relied on the very quality of Alfalfa to conduct feeding trials on several animals including yellow perch.

The researchers realized that Alfalfa can be used as an aquafeed when they gave the fish pellets that are developed using protein concentrate. The concentrate is extracted from a protein-rich leaf of the legume crop.

Moreover, the researchers found that perch-fed pellets with the alfalfa protein concentrate were lighter in weight as compared to the perch fed with fishmeal formulations. Furthermore, their quality, fillet yields, flavor, and composition were also similar.

Alfalfa can help maintain sustainability in the global aquafeed industry. The results of the research can open new market opportunities where cost-effective and nutritionally rich aquafeed can be provided to the consumers.

DEVELOPMENT OF NEW FACILITIES TO BOOST THE FEED PRODUCTION:

The demand for aquafeed items is ever-rising and market players are encouraged to meet the demand with heavy investment. 

Aquafeeds are created for aquaculture and quality aquaculture is possible with high-quality feed. As result, one of the known industry names, Skretting has decided to build a state-of-the-art RAS feed facility in Florida. The project will be built with the help of Atlantic Sapphire. This feed plant will be developed for land-based salmon in Florida and is expected to produce 220,000 tons of salmon annually.

In another news, Netherlands-based aquafeed manufacturer, Nutreco has planned to join hands with Unga Group of Uganda to form a 50/50 joint venture named Nutreco International B.V.After receiving shareholder approval,Unga Group will transfer part of the assets Unga Farm Care and Unga Millers to form a joint venture to tap the Kenyan aquafeedmarket in the coming future.

Nutreco International B.V. plans to build aquafeed facilities in Kenya to target a larger share of the aquafeedmarket as the Kenyan government and businesses have increased their focus on the blue economy. This is a strategic market decision that will help the company boost its business in the regional market. Nutreco and Unga Millers will also develop an animal feed and nutrition joint venture in Uganda.

Aquaculture sustainability can be improved only when the feed production is efficient, eco-friendly, and can help to conserve natural resources. Thus, many companies have heavily invested in R&D to understand the health of farmed fish and seafood. 

Companies and researchers are ready to discover new technologies to make the aquafeed market profitable and more cost-effective than ever. The advent of cell-based protein products has attracted attention from known market players and investors including JitseGroen, CEO of Just Eat Takeaway.com, a meat processor in Switzerland, Bell Food Group, and an animal nutrition and aquafeed specialist,Nutreco.

Aquafeed market players are open to new innovations and the cell-based protein or lab-grown meat and fish market can open profitable opportunities for the market players. Companies such as BlueNalu of San Diego and Avant Meats of Hong Kong, among others have already made plans to introduce lab-grown finfish and meat products to the market in the nearest future.

Right from new product launches, R&D activities, partnerships, and acquisitions, every market trend is expected to add innovation in the aquafeedmarket. Thus, the new and old market players, irrespective of their operation size, must pay attention to such market dynamics to stay ahead in the global aquafeed market and sustain the changing customer demands.