Feed Additives Market Size, Share, Growth & Industry Analysis, By Type (Amino Acids, Vitamins & Minerals, Antioxidants, and Others), By Animal Type (Cattle, Poultry, Swine, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2024– 2032

The global feed additives market size was valued at USD 36.17 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow from USD 37.92 billion in 2024 to USD 53.66 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.43% during the forecast period.

Animal feed additives are important ingredients in feed production as they enhance feed utilization efficiency, animal health, and metabolism. These additives are extensively used worldwide, benefitting various animals and birds, including poultry. They contribute to improved growth performance, increased feed palatability, provide essential nutrients, and optimize feed utilization.

With increasing feed standards, growing awareness among consumers and the demand for healthy animal by-products, the feed additive manufacturers are looking for non-residual and more natural alternatives to traditional additives. Some vital additives most commonly used in the feed are prebiotics, probiotics, herbs, and feed enzymes. Herbs, such as cinnamon, cumin, celery, and their botanical extracts, are also used in feed as additives. These botanical herbs possess medicinal properties that help to improve anti-inflammatory properties of feed and acts as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, digestibility booster, and immune-stimulant at the same time. Additionally, additives are used to add flavor and color to animal diets.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on animal health, meat production, animal welfare activities, and global food safety. The pandemic disrupted major industries due to unplanned disturbances that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic including labor shortage, food supply chain disruption, and reduced access to markets and veterinary health services. International border restrictions, port restrictions, and social distancing limitations reduced the productivity, competitiveness, and quality of key sectors in the global economy.

Feed Additives Market Trends

Growing Popularity for Functional Feed to Boost Product Demand

Feed plays a crucial role in influencing immunity, growth, and the overall performance of animals. Companies operating in the feed industry have developed functional supplements and foods fortified with additives that offer physiological benefits and can improve the immunity of animals. Food additives vary widely in function, such as regulating stress, improving gut health, and enhancing disease resistance.

In the formation of functional foods, key additives include enzymes, antioxidants, mycotoxin binders, probiotics and prebiotics, plant extracts, and photobiotic compounds. These functional additives are added to feed formulations and incorporated into pellets by various processing methods. Adding these additives to animal feed can improve the overall physiological quality of animals, thereby increasing their market value. With the rapid commercialization of the livestock industry in developing countries, many livestock farms are being set up only to cater to certain demands of the market. This often necessitates the incorporation of functional additives into animal feed. This trend is expected to be witnessed in emerging countries, supplementing market growth over the forecast period.  

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Feed Additives Market Growth Factors

Thriving Demand for Animal Proteins to Boost Additives Sales

According to the United Nations population projections for 2050, the global population is anticipated to reach more than 9.7 billion, leading to an increasing demand for animal protein. The consumption of animal protein has increased significantly in recent years. The animal feed industry is scaling up production efforts to meet this growing demand, while ensuring sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of livestock operations. Several factors such as consumption patterns and daily diets of humans, determine the need for animal protein in the regular diet of humans. The animal-derived protein industry is expected to expand due to health benefits associated with meat consumption and animal by-products.

Livestock products contribute to 30% of the global agricultural value and 19% of the food production value, providing nearly 35% of protein and 15% of energy consumed in human food. Meeting consumer demand for milk, meat, eggs, and other animal by-products depends greatly on a steady supply of suitable, cost-effective, safe feed. With a growing demand for quality feed, the need for additives that can provide various functional benefits is also growing. With a promising outlook for the animal protein industry in the future, the growing need for additives will supplement market growth over the forecast period.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Rising Cost of Feed Raw Materials is Limiting Market Growth for Additives

One of the significant challenges faced by market players in the feed and nutrition industry is the increasing cost of feed, which accounts for more than 70% of total production costs for some species. In emerging economies, livestock farmers often encounter financial constraints that prevent them from buying expensive feed. Consequently, they turn to using locally-made or self-produced compound feed for their animals, making the meat quality derived from such countries sometimes lower than the average quality.

Additionally, 25% of available nutrients remain unutilized by livestock animals. Reducing this indigestibility and maximizing feed efficiency based on nutritional and economic factors, which often have different characteristics, is also a major challenge for the feed industry.

While traditional feeds continue to be used at a high rate, there is a growing trend of incorporating new additives into animal feed formulations. This practice aims to make feed prices affordable for everyone. The industry players deploy a wide range of innovative approaches to optimize and evaluate the continuous development of efficient and sustainable advancements in the feed additives industry. However, challenges persist within the feed industry, particularly in emerging countries where farmers rely on alternative, self-made forage feed.

Feed Additives Market Segmentation Analysis

By Type Analysis

Amino Acids Segment Holds the Largest Share due to Demand from Growing Poultry Industry

On the basis of type, the market is divided into amino acids, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and others. The amino acids segment held the largest feed additives market share in 2022 and is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. The proper balance of amino acids in the regular diet feed is crucial for optimal animal performance. Inadequate levels of these amino acids could result in issues regarding meat production, egg production, and meat quality. Amino acid additives provide flexibility with feed ingredients, enabling companies to gain more profit. These amino acids also compensate for certain amino acid deficiencies caused by cheaper alternatives. The amino acids predominantly added to feed are L-methionine, L-valine, L-lysine, L-tryptophan, L-thionine, and L-arginine.

Essential minerals needed for animal diet include common salt, calcium, zinc, sulfur, iodine, iron, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, copper, magnesium, cobalt, and selenium. All farm animals generally need more common salt than their diets contain, and it is routinely provided to them. Among other essential minerals, phosphorus, and calcium are the most likely to become deficient as they are in high demand for various functions, such as bone development, milk production, and the formation of eggshells. Good sources of calcium and phosphorus are bone meal, dicalcium phosphate, and defluoridated phosphate. Eggshells are made from almost pure calcium carbonate. Calcium can easily be obtained from crushed limestone, crushed seashells, or marl, all of which are rich in calcium. Antioxidant additives are expected to grow with a considerable CAGR during the forecast period, mainly due to the growing demand from the Asia Pacific poultry industry.

By Animal Type Analysis

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Poultry Segment Dominates due to Growing Commercialization of Poultry Business Worldwide 

On the basis of animal type, the global feed market is sub-segmented into cattle, poultry, swine, and others. The others segment mainly consists of sheep, goats, and aqua feed. The poultry segment held the largest share in 2022 and is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. The ever-growing poultry sector is expected to prosper over the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for eggs as well as chicken for consumption.

The major sub-units in the poultry segment include duck, chicken, turkey, and goose in terms of species. These poultry species are raised for meat and egg production. Among all species, chicken is the major breeding species globally. The poultry sector is one of the fastest-growing agricultural sub-sectors in emerging countries. Factors such as high income level, high population, and urbanization are expected to contribute to market growth in the future. While individual small-scale farms and family-owned businesses in the poultry industry are instrumental in driving the feed additives market growth, the major growth is expected to be propelled by large-scale commercial poultry operations in the long run. With the thriving poultry business, the demand for functional feed ingredients has grown over the last few years, benefitting market players and expanding their businesses.

Besides the poultry sector, the cattle feed industry also consumes large amounts of feed additives, making it the second largest market. According to the USDA statistics, the global cattle population exceeded one billion in 2022. Cattle animals primarily consume a diet consisting of legumes, grasses, clover, alfalfa, and hay. To enhance the digestibility of their regular diet, feed additives are added during the production process. Moreover, antioxidants are also added to the feed to prevent them from deteriorating. Cattle fall under the ruminant category and ferment their feed before digesting in the intestines. With a heavy amount of diet requirement daily, cattle require a well-balanced diet rich in nutrients to support their growth and productivity. Traditionally, cattle weighing over 700 pounds require relatively high feed concentrates. Feed additives such as minerals, supplements containing vitamins, and protein are added to cattle feed for better growth. With the cattle population expected to grow further in the coming decade, the need for feed additives will also increase. This trend is poised to fuel the expansion of the market over the forecast period. 

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

The global study of the additives market considers various regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa.

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Asia Pacific held the largest market share in 2023 due to the presence of China and India, which are among the top 5 animal feed-producing countries worldwide. The top 5 feed-producing countries in 2022 were China, the U.S., Brazil, India, and Mexico. These five countries account for more than 55% of the global market in terms of value due to the significant demand for feed additives. The collective feed production in these countries witnessed a growth of more than 4% compared to the 2021 levels.

Asia Pacific experienced the highest increase in feed production by volume in 2022. The growth in this region can be attributed to the ongoing consolidation and modernization of the feed industry in China, India, Vietnam, and Japan. The poultry segment held the largest market share of the animal type. This is mainly driven by the presence of numerous small-scale farmholders and competitiveness among large commercial enterprises operating in the poultry sector, all vying to expand in new geographies.

In addition, factors that are predominantly expanding the industry growth in Asia Pacific include the ever-increasing livestock population, untapped potential in emerging markets, flourishing end-user industries, and the growing consumption of domestic animal products. Furthermore, the changing purchasing power of the population and favorable demographics of the region are contributing to supplementing the animal feed industry in the region. Elevating demand for dairy and meat products such as fish, meat, and eggs, necessitates higher-quality feed. Such factors also attract international market players to expand their presence in Asia, thereby driving the growth of the market.

North America holds the second-largest position in the global market share. The U.S. is the second largest animal feed producer in the world and Mexico is also one of the world's top five animal feed producers.

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There are more than 5,000 feed manufacturing facilities in the U.S., producing more than 200 million tons of finished animal feed yearly. The top three consumers of animal feed in the U.S. are beef cattle, followed by pigs and broilers. According to AFIA (American Feed Industry Association), North Carolina, Iowa, California, Texas, and Minnesota topped the list for animal feed consumption.

Over the last few years, there has been a substantial rise in the utilization of oilseed meal as a key component in the diets of livestock and poultry in North America. As the total consumption of oilseed meal in the animal feed industry has increased over the past decade, the dominance of soybean meal over other oilseed meal has decreased. Much of the increased feed oilseed supply is due to increased maize production and the need for crop rotation. This is due to the increasing availability and awareness of the protein value of oilseed meal as a feed additive, mainly for dairy cattle, beef cattle, and pigs. Mexico is emerging as one of the prominent animal feed producers in the world and is expected to increase its presence in the global animal feed industry in the coming years, creating the need for animal feed ingredients simultaneously.

According to a report by Alltech, European laying hen feed production was 30.9 million tons in 2021 but dipped by 1% in 2022 to 30.6 million tons. In 2022, avian influenza, other diseases and high raw material costs affected the laying hen industry in many European markets. The region saw a tight poultry market with high prices. Poultry production is expected to decline, keeping prices high due to continued pressure from avian flu and high input costs. For U.K. poultry, self-sufficiency declined in 2023, with imports increasing slightly from the Netherlands, Poland and Thailand.

In 2022, Europe, which reported declines in most feed categories by volume, saw the largest drop in cow feed compared to the previous year. According to a report by Alltech, beef feed production in Europe was 17.5 million tons in 2021, which decreased in 2022 to reach 15.7 million tons. According to the report, although some countries in the region reported significant increases, total animal feed production decreased by more than 10%. Due to low prices, Bulgaria reported a slight shift from milk to beef production. In many cases, drought and rising beef prices have prompted dietary supplementation.

The Brazilian feed industry is the third largest industry in the world, mainly due to its large raw material production capacity and the country’s considerable size, combined with its high meat consumption. Brazil's agricultural output has grown rapidly over the past decade, spurred by rising global demand and technological progress. The surge in Brazil's export demand for protein further propels the feed industry, which is striving to expand production to meet this heightened demand.

The growing livestock, poultry, and aquaculture sectors make Brazil well-suited to niche markets such as feed additives and ingredients. Rising prices for corn and soybean meal continue to rise, exerting pressure on the feed industry. Feed additives and ingredients play an important role in alleviating financial pressures and uncertainties, ensuring that animals receive adequate nutritional food.  With Brazil and other South American countries being popular destinations for investment in the feed industry, the South American region is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the analysis period.

List of Key Companies in Feed Additives Market

Companies Focus on Mergers & Acquisitions and Partnerships to Gain Competitive Edge

Various regional and international players are consistently developing advanced strategies to take a competitive advantage over other competitors. Many companies are forming mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and deploying collaborative strategies to enable market growth. For instance, in January 2023, Animal health and nutrition company Novus International, Inc. acquired biotech company Agrivida Inc. Through this acquisition, Novus would take ownership of the proprietary INTERIUS technology developed by Agrivida to embed feed additives inside the grain.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• Cargill, Incorporated (U.S.)


• ADM (U.S.)


• Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Japan)


• Evonik Industries (Germany)


• DuPont (U.S.)


• Novozymes (Denmark)


• DSM (Netherlands)


• Adisseo (China)


• Chr. Hansen Holding (Denmark)


• Kemin Industries, Inc. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• August 2023 – Adisseo, a Chinese conglomerate operating in the animal nutrition industry, shared plans to expand its footprint by constructing a new powder methionine plant in Fujian province in China. The company invested nearly USD 680 million in this facility, which is expected to be operational by 2027.


• February 2021 – Global animal nutrition conglomerate DLG Group, in collaboration with Alltech, acquired Finland-based company Karki-Agri. This move would enhance their ability to provide field-proven and innovative animal nutrition solutions, strengthening their market position.


• February 2021 – Investment Partners, through its IK IX Fund, acquired the majority of shares from the founders of Innovad. Innovad is a supplier of animal health and nutrition solutions.


• November 2020 –Evonik acquired the Porocel Group for USD 210 million. Revenues from the newly acquired entity would be included in Evonik’s sales and earnings for the year 2020. The company, with its employees and the corresponding production facilities, integrated into the Smart Materials division of Evonik.


• July 2020 – ADM, one of the global leaders in animal nutrition, launched its own encapsulated lysine supplement, “NutriPass L,” which is rumen-stable and intestinally available to cows. Encapsulating lysine would allow producers to supply a cost-effective and balanced diet by reducing the higher cost of protein ingredients.

REPORT COVERAGE

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The feed additives market research report provides a detailed analysis of the market and focuses on key aspects such as leading companies, animal types, and leading types of products. The report also offers insights into market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the factors above, the report encompasses several factors that contributed to the market's growth in recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation