Aquafeed Formulation

Sergio F Nates, Sergio F Nates

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780128009956
• Topic: Tecnologia e ingegneria
• Subtopic: Allevamento di animali

Aquafeed Formulation is the only resource that provides summaries with examples and formulation techniques specifically to meet the needs of anyone in the aquaculture industry.

As feed is the largest single cost item in aquaculture production, and formulating aquaculture feed requires many combinations of several ingredients and nutrient requirements, this book takes a clear-and -concise approach, providing essential information on formulation and covering relevant available software, feed nutrients, and additives such as enzymes and phytase and conjugated fatty acids, as well as best industry practices to improve aquafeed production.

Users will find this to be a one-stop resource for anyone interested or involved in, the global aquaculture industry.

• Includes the latest software evaluation for calculating protein and amino acid sources, trace minerals, and vitamins for aquaculture diets
• Provides essential information on formulation, covering feed nutrients and additives such as enzymes and phytase and conjugated fatty acids
• Presents factors affecting nutrient recommendations for aquaculture diets and nutritional effects on aquaculture nutrient excretion and water quality
• Covers a broad range of techniques to understand the nutrient recommendations in the NRC guide

1

Overview of the aquaculture feed industry

Zuridah Merican¹ and Dagoberto Sanchez², ¹Aqua Research PLC, Singapore, ²AppliedAquaNutrition Consulting, Lima, Peru

Abstract

The aquafeed industry throughout Asia and the Americas is technologically well developed, typically producing extruded feeds for fish and pelleted feeds for shrimp. Although aquafeed production is not easy to quantify due to the lack of information, efforts have been made to estimate regional volumes through different mechanisms including aquaculture production combined with the typical feed conversion rates of the individual cultured species and country.

Keywords

Aquaculture Feed; fish; shrimp feed; Asia; America; China; Malaysia; Thailand; Vietnam; Philippines; India; Indonesia

1 Aquafeed in Asia

1.1 Introduction

In general, aquafeed producers in Asia have important supporting roles in the development of aquaculture in Asia. The feed industry was a major driver in commercial shrimp farming in Asia in the 1980s, which was introduced into Asia by Taiwanese feed companies. Aside from feed supply, feed producers determine how aquaculture will develop in a particular country through the development of culture technology, provision of technical services and in disease management. Some feed companies support grow-out farmers with seedstock, either from their own or associated hatcheries, and assist farmers in selling their harvests. Often the role of aquafeed producers is not limited to small-scale farms. Inevitably, the industry has been affected by the ups and downs within the production chain, such as the drop in shrimp production due to early mortality syndrome (EMS) in the last 4 years.

The industry in Asia is highly competitive, with a large number of players producing feeds for several species. Aside from pelleted feeds for the two species of marine shrimp, Indonesian feed companies produce extruded (floating, slow sinking, and sinking) and pelleted feeds for the common carp, tilapia, pangasius catfish, Clarias catfish, gouramy, milkfish, seabass, grouper, and a general freshwater fish feed. In China, feeds for marine fish include those for the yellow croaker, cobia, Asian seabass, seabream, red drum, flounder, and groupers. As the industry consolidates, the rate of growth is slowing. Success depends on volume production but this can be limited as the industry is intertwined with changes in the production chain and threats of diseases.

The opportunity for future expansion is country-specific. In China, producers are optimistic on a 10% growth rate to 2017, with demand for aquaculture products linked with population increases (Dong et al., 2013). In several countries, demand for pelleted and extruded fish feeds will rise as fish farmers continue to change from using farm-made or mash feeds as well as trash feeds to commercially produced pelleted or extruded feeds for freshwater and marine fish. Feeds for the marine fish sector are an opportunity for feed producers in most countries. However, the sector also needs to move up from being small scale to industrialized farming before the benefits of economies of scale for feed producers can be realized.

This section covers the changes in the aquafeed industry in Asia in recent years. Official data on feed production and actual feed sales are not available for most countries and in this material, the authors relied on information from industry sources. The section describes the dynamics in the industry in recent times, followed by some industry developments in the leading producing countries.

1.2 A shift in equilibrium

In shrimp feeds, the onset of EMS, which was first reported in China in 2009, Vietnam in 2010, Malaysia in 2011, and Thailand in 2012 (Flegel et al., 2014), changed the equilibrium in the feed sector in these countries. Prior to 2010, shrimp feed volumes were growing at a CAGR of 9.6% in Thailand (calculated from data in Thongrod, 2013), 7.5% in Vietnam, and 11.8% Malaysia (AAP, 2008, 2009, 2010). This was the result of the surge in feed demand when farmers shifted to farming Penaeus vannamei shrimp at higher densities (from 80 post larvae (PL)/m²) in comparison to that for the Penaeus monodon which average at 30 PL/m². This led to an expansion of feed capacity to match the increase in shrimp production.

In Thailand, vannamei shrimp farming started in 2004. Aramsiriwat (2012) showed that the rate of growth in shrimp feed production averaged 9.7% per year from 2004 to 2012. According to Thongrod (2013) shrimp production rose from 530,000 tonnes in 2007 to 600,000 tonnes in 2011 and in parallel with this growth, feed volumes rose from 901,000 tonnes in 2007 to 1.02 million tonnes in 2011.

1.3 Lower demand with EMS

With EMS, feed markets shrank in affected countries as farmers failed in crossing the 40 days of culture. While some farmers stopped culturing, others consolidated their feed purchases, giving them more negotiating power over the feed mills. With increased competition, feed mills were desperate to maintain sales to reach their breakeven volumes. At the same time, costs were rising as feed mills had little negotiating power over commodity supplies, dictated by market prices. The results of EMS were unpredictable feed demand and sales; more frequent sales of starter feeds as farmers lost crops; and restarted culture cycles. This is accompanied by generally lower sales volumes of grower and finisher feeds. For each cycle, feed volumes were significantly reduced. Although there are no published data on feed sales, it is presumed that emergency harvests of shrimp size 100/kg (100 g/shrimp) also brought down shrimp production volumes and thus overall feed usage. To secure markets, some feed mills try to integrate by farming themselves while others have built alliances with farmers and developed contract farming. Wilson (2013) reported a 10% lower demand in 2012 as compared to 2011 at 740,000 tonnes. However, anecdotal reports from Thailand showed many feed mills running at only 40% of capacity in 2013. Malaysia had a small shrimp feed market at 125,000 tonnes in 2010 but this declined to 60,000 tonnes in 2013.

A major consequence of EMS is the decoupling of feed and post larvae. In the early 2000s, Charoen Pokphand Thailand introduced the purchase of feed with post larvae, otherwise known as bundling of feeds. This was popular especially when the bundling was of post larvae, genetically selected for faster growth and specific feeds, prerequisite for fast growth. During this time, post larvae were also in short supply and other feed companies modified this marketing strategy supplying post larvae from their own or affiliated hatcheries. Among the several causes of EMS is post larvae quality, and therefore farmers began to move away from this bundling concept.

1.4 Horizontal expansion and integration

After repeated crop failures with EMS, there has been a shift to farming fish, such as the Asian seabass and tilapia, in shrimp ponds. Feed mills encouraged this and even helped in marketing the fish. In this way, the feed producer continues the relationship with feed clients and has feed sales.

In freshwater fish production, the majority of farms are small-scale and hence have little negotiating power over the feed mills. There is strong competition among large and small feed millers. On the othe...