World animal feed market was USD 530 billion in 2023. Annual growth in the use of animal feed was 14.2% in 2024, hence the total market would be USD 605.3 billion in 2025. World sales in the decade of 2025 to 2035 will see a 7.3% CAGR and will reach the market size of USD 1,224.6 billion in 2035.
Animal feed market is strong with increasing demand for food of animal origin, i.e., meat, milk, eggs, and fish, thus demanding productive and high-quality animal feed. Increasing population in the world, increasing disposable income, and shift in diet to animal protein are some of the demand drivers.
Aside from this, animal health demand and the necessity to advance improved feed formulation for increased growth, reproduction, and immunity has pressed the industry to create new products in animal feed. Livestock farming expansion as well as the industry of industrial farming business in the emerging Asia Pacific and Latin America countries is contributing significantly towards industry growth.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
Estimated Global Animal Feed Industry Size (2025E) | USD 605.3 billion |
Projected Global Animal Feed Industry Value (2035F) | USD 1,224.6 billion |
Value-based CAGR (2025 to 2035) | 7.3% |
The technological advances in the production of animal feed, including production of feed additives, precision nutrition, and incorporation of alternative sources of protein (i.e., insect proteins), are transforming the market. The technologies will be more efficient with the feed, less environmentally challenging, and nutrimental in nature.
Moreover, sustainability is a recurring concern for the sector. Strides to make animal feed production less carbon-intensive, and innovation in raw material technology such as sustainable grains, have generated increasing interest in sustainable and responsible feed solutions. The increasing use of plant and other protein feed stocks as animal feed, and investment in alternative feed inputs like algae, insects, and seaweed research, should continue to drive market growth.
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Comparison of the six-month gap in CAGR now and six months prior (2024 and 2025 respectively) in the global animal feed market is as follows. This analysis gives significant variation in performance and determines revenue realization trends, thus giving the stakeholders a better understanding of the growth trajectory during the year. The months January to June are referred to as the first half of the year, H1. The months July to December are referred to as the second half, H2.
Particular | Value CAGR |
---|---|
H1 (2024 to 2034) | 6.8% |
H2 (2024 to 2034) | 7.0% |
H1 (2025 to 2035) | 7.1% |
H2 (2025 to 2035) | 7.3% |
During the period between H1 2025 and mid-2035, the company will grow at 7.1% CAGR, and during the period between mid- and end-period of the same time, at a growth rate of 7.3%. Proceeding to the subsequent period, i.e., from H1 2025 to H2 2035, the CAGR will remain at 7.1% for the first half while being high in the second half at 7.3%. In the first half (H1), the industry saw an improvement of 30 BPS, while in the second half (H2), the company saw an improvement of 20 BPS.
Multinational Corporations - They are the world animal feed giants that leverage advanced research, strong distribution channels, and multi-line products. They believe in high-performance feed formulation, sustainability, and global growth. Cargill Inc. (USA), the global market leader in agrifood animal nutrition, Cargill produces specialty animal feed for poultry, aquaculture, and livestock.
Novel feed technology innovation, e.g., substitute plant- or insect-based proteins, is of top concern here. Archer Daniels Midland, ADM is a global market leader in feed ingredients, supplying customized animal nutrition solutions to the swine, poultry, and ruminant business.
Regional Leaders - These players exert significant local market power in a particular region and focus on fulfilling local demand, local regulation, and customized feed formulation. For Farmers (Netherlands) For Farmers is a leading Dutch producing European company and focuses on providing sustainable animal feeds with focus on the lower environmental impact as well as improved animal welfare.
It is based mainly in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. Nutreco (Netherlands), Its Trouw Nutrition and Skretting brands, Nutreco retails premium aqua and livestock production feed products. Nutreco invests in new proteins and emerging feed ingredients such as algae-based omega-3 and new protein feeds.
Chinese Dominant Players - China is the largest consumer and producer of animal feed, and the companies are marketing to domestic as well as foreign markets. They are interested in low-cost production, expansion sponsored by the government, and volume production of feed.
New Hope Liuhe, New Hope Liuhe is one of China's largest feed producers, producing poultry, pig, and ruminant feed with the strategy of combining animal rearing and feed production in order to minimize costs. Exports are expanding to Southeast Asia and Africa. Tongwei Co., Ltd. (China), Tongwei is a leading aquaculture feed business with experience in high-performance fish and shrimp feed for both domestic and export seafood markets. Tongwei also invests in green feed manufacturing technology
Innovation of New Protein Sources for Animal Feed
Shift: Growing sustainability issues around soybean and fishmeal production are driving demand for alternative animal feed protein sources. Deforestation from soybeans and overfishing from fishmeal are undermining marine diversity. EU, USA, and China are applying regulatory pressure to the industry to insect meal, microalgae, single-cell proteins, and yeast-based fermented feeds as a way of mitigating the environmental footprint.
Strategic Response: Ÿnsect (France) and Protix (Netherlands) increased the industrial production of insect protein, and big poultry and fish farms replaced 20% of traditional protein feed with insect meal. Cargill & Innovafeed joined forces to produce black soldier fly larvae meal, reducing feed's CO₂ footprint by 25% in aquaculture.
Unibio launched single-cell protein (SCP) feed, allowing farmers to reduce soy protein reliance by 15% in pig and poultry farming. ADM and DSM-Firmenich bought fermented yeast proteins to support gut health and animal digestibility.
Antibiotic-Free and Gut-Health-Boosting Feeds Demand
Shift: International ban on the usage of antibiotics in livestock production-because of antibiotic resistance and damage to consumers' food safety-has triggered the need for natural feed additives. Broilers, beef, and swine farmers use more and more probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, and essential oils to drive gut microbiota, immunity, and feed performance without medicated feed.
Strategic Response: Novus International and Evonik introduced gut-health-formulated amino acid blends to substitute antibiotics in piglet and poultry feed and enhance feed conversion by 18%. Cargill's Diamond V probiotics feed solutions assisted dairy farmers in producing 12% more milk without affecting digestive well-being.
BIOMIN & Chr. Hansen introduced yeast-based and essential oil-based solutions and registered falling disease outbreaks in livestock by 15%. Phibro Animal Health Corporation created prebiotic chicken farm feed to boost the feed conversion ratio of the chicken farm by 10%.
Transitioning to Carbon-Negative & Climate-Smart Feed for Livestock
Shift: Green and low-carbon feed is the push from green-aware consumer and power over green animal feed. One of the greatest pushes for 14.5% of GHG emissions across animal agriculture globally is beef cattle methane. Reducing methane emissions through feed additives, regenerative ag feed source, and supply chain expansion by carbon-neutral amounts are coming under the limelight of attention.
Strategic Response: DSM-Firmenich's Bovaer® enteric methane-reducing feed additive lowers dairy cows' enteric methane by 30% and is approved for sale in Europe, Australia, and Brazil.BASF and Cargill created seaweed cattle feed with the best methane reduction at 80%.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) launched regenerative agriculture corn-and-soy-based chicken feed and lower-carbon-footprint chicken feeds.Fonterra and Nestlé teamed up to bring carbon-neutral dairy feed in an attempt to turn net-zero dairy production into reality by 2050.
Precision Nutrition & AI-Based Feed Formulation Composition
Shift: Due to the fact that the price volatility of commodities governs the feed cost, operators are resorting to precision nutrition and automated formulation of the feed as a way of minimizing wastage and maximizing utilization of feed, as well as enhancing animal comfort.
Computerized systems with AI use real-time live animal performance information and redistribute workload on the combination of the nutrients dynamically based on the true requirement for maximizing growth rate and FCRs and incurring costly wasteful feeding.
Strategic Response: Pioneer in AI livestock monitoring by Alltech and Cargill, 12% reduction in growth rates and feed loss. Computerized customized poultry and pig feed formulation pioneer by De Heus and Nutreco, maximum FCR achieved by 8%.
Precision-fed amino acid balancing pioneer by FCE Group and BASF, protein loss and nitrogen emissions reduced. Real-time nutrient profiling software by Trouw Nutrition, where farmers would adjust daily feeding composition based on weather and animal health status.
Organic & Non-GMO Feed Expansion for EthicalFarming
Shift: Increasing demand for certified organic, pesticide-free, and non-GMO feed since there is increasing demand for organic production of eggs, meat, and dairy. They will gladly pay more for naturally occurring hormone-free animal products, and major commercial producers are shifting towards organic feed programs.
Contribution by USA, EU, and Japan is generating 15-20% annual growth in organically raised animals and therefore for certified organic grain, pulses, and vegetable protein feeding demands.
Strategic Response: Maple Leaf Foods and Perdue Farms instructed the chicken farms to shift to 100% organic-certified feed, and sales of organic chicken improved by 25%. Land O'Lakes and Kemin Industries developed non-GMO soy- and corn-derived animal feed because consumers were demanding clean-label meat.
Hiland Naturals and Biofarm introduced organic-certified feed blends, and demand for grass-fed beef and free-range poultry picked up. Danone and Arla Foods collaborated with organic dairy farms to establish a 100% non-GMO supply chain for the production of feed utilized in milking.
Expansion of Functional Feed for Immunity & Stress Resistance
Shift: With increasing overall interest being taken regarding livestock disease outbreaks, climate stress, and post-pandemic food safety issues, the market for functional feed additives that increase immune resilience, stress resistance, and disease resistance keeps expanding.
Dysfunctional weather-i.e., heat stress in cattle, cold stress in pigs, and climatic manipulation to aquaculture-is producing production losses and compromised feed efficiency. Worldwide pressures to wean livestock off antibiotics have spurred heightened interest in naturally occurring bioactive substances such as adaptogens, antioxidants, and immune-stimulating additives.
Strategic Response: Nutreco and Biomin launched mycotoxin binders and antioxidant-supplemented feed, with a 30% decrease in susceptibility to disease in livestock.Cargill's Proviox and Phytogenics supplemented poultry and swine gut immunity to cut mortality by 15%.
DSM-Firmenich's HiPhorius enzyme feed supplemented nutrient application to cut stress-caused broiler chicken weight loss by 12%.BASF's essential oil-phytogenic and animal nutrition to increase heat-stress tolerance improved milk yield and egg production during summer.Alltech introduced Adaptogen
The following table shows the estimated growth rates of the top five territories expected to exhibit high consumption of animal feed through 2035.
Countries | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
---|---|
USA | 6.2% |
Germany | 6.7% |
China | 7.9% |
Japan | 7.3% |
India | 8.5% |
The demand for high-performance livestock feed, organic pet nutrition, and functional feed additives is driving the growth of the USA animal feed market. As consumers become more aware of the quality of their meat, animal health and their environmental impact, feed manufacturers are responding by investing in feed formulations that are higher in protein, as well as non-GMO and antibiotic-free feed.
Also, the rising demand for nutritionally balanced, specialized feed products owing to the growing demand for aquaculture, poultry farming and premium pet food markets further drives the growth of the feed premix market.
Germany has a consistently growing animal feed market amidst the strict animal welfare, organic certification and sustainable animal feed sourcing introduced by the EU. Growing Demand for Plant-Based Feed, Insect Protein and Alternative Protein Sources in Livestock and Aquaculture Feed Formulation
As governments increasingly push for low-carbon agriculture and antibiotic-free livestock, manufacturers are investing in fermented feed, algae-based proteins and probiotic-based nutrition solutions for livestock animals.
China’s growing animal feed market is driven mainly by its position as a world leader in pork and poultry production. Local manufacturers are also building their production of plant-based, functional, and fortified feed in response to increasing government regulations on feed safety and sustainable sources of protein.
As urbanization rises and the demand for premium grades of meat and dairy products grows, feed producers are investing in improved nutrition solutions to help boost livestock productivity.
Japan’s animal feed segment is supported by, high-quality, functional animal nutrition, and precision farming in the country. Japan Feed Operation (and fish meal replacement, amino acid supplementation and probiotics for livestock)
Feed efficiency technologies are being advanced in Japan, so as to optimize feeding strategies, minimize waste, and enhance nutritional absorption.
Demand for livestock products in India is on the rise, and its animal feed sector is growing as a result, fueled also by the expansion of smallholder farming and the support of government programs aimed at increasing livestock productivity. There is a rising demand for affordable, high-quality feed formulas for poultry, cattle, and aquaculture.
Starting up sustainable feed solutions and alternative protein sources are coming through startup innovations, where a few players are targeting to glow in high quality and mass-market feed production space in India.
Segment | Value Share (2025) |
---|---|
Livestock & Poultry Feed (By Type) | 62.5% |
The animal feed market is segmented as livestock and poultry feed segment, accounted for the most significant share of the global animal feed market, owing to the mass production of meat, dairy products, and eggs in the world. As consumer demand grows for high-protein diets and livestock raised with ethical standards, feed formulations are changing, incorporating such ingredients as organic, non-GMO, and antibiotic-free sources.
Similarly, enzymes, probiotics, and omega-3-enriched feed for poultry feed additives are also growing in popularity, improving the growth of poultry and their immune function. Fermented silage, alfalfa meal, and fortified grains are producing better dairy productivity and beef quality.
The food manufacturing sector is turning to alternative protein sources like insect meal, algae-based proteins and single-cell proteins, in a bid to escape a reliance on traditional soybean and fishmeal feedstock as consumer preference and concerns over sustainability rise. This change is anticipated to improve feed efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of livestock production.
Segment | Value Share (2025) |
---|---|
Aquaculture & Specialty Feed (By Type) | 37.5% |
As global seafood consumption increases and aquaculture industries grow rapidly, the market for nutritionally enhanced fish and shrimp feed is expanding. Defining sustainable, efficient, plant-based, and high-protein feeds can help meet these industry-level changes while minimizing the ecological cost and the reliance on marine raw materials. Additionally, innovations in algae-based proteins, fermentation-derived amino acids, and insect meal are making great strides in improving feed efficiency and bolstering the health of farmed animals.
Meanwhile, specialty animal feed is developing vigorously as well besides aquaculture. Horse nutrition, pet foods innovation, insect-based feed formulations - they’re all on the move as consumers demand high-quality and functional animal foods.
That meanwhile expands the overall market with many specialized high-performance horse feed, exotic animal feed, and laboratory animal feed for research. Manufacturers are focused on precision-based feeding solutions that maximize the absorption of nutrients, improved gut health, and overall animal performance.
With the improvement and increasing usage of functional and data-driven feed technologies, the demand for customized animal nutrition solutions will rise across various markets - livestock, pet, and aqua. Combining sustainability and efficiency, feed formulations will soon integrate innovative components and scientific advances that optimize growth, health, and environmental sustainability.
Animal feed is a competitive market, and stakeholders target everything from sustainable protein sourcing to functional feed additives and digital farming solutions. Companies are actively working to match evolving livestock and aquaculture needs with solutions from precision nutrition to AI-optimized formulations and alternative proteins.
Dominance in the sector can be attributed to leading players including Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Nutreco, Alltech, and Land O’Lakes, who specialize in feed research, extensive distribution, and tailored nutrition capabilities. Several companies are building out their Asia-Pacific and Latin American business to service the growing need for cheap and environmentally friendly feed products.
Partnerships with livestock producers, investments in bioengineered protein sources, and development of carbon-neutral feed production techniques are few key strategies in this direction. Moreover, the manufacturers are focusing on precision fermentation, enzymes enhanced feed, and gut health solutions for optimizing livestock performance.
For instance:
The global animal feed industry is projected to reach USD 605.3 billion in 2025.
Key players include DSM N.V; BASF SE; Parry Nutraceutical; Fuji Chemical Industries Co; Divi’s Laboratories; Piveg, Inc; Fenchem Biotek Ltd.
Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate due to high demand for livestock and aquaculture feed solutions.
The industry is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2025 to 2035.
Key drivers include rising global demand for high-quality protein sources, increasing use of functional feed additives, and advancements in alternative protein feed production.
The market caters to various livestock categories, including commercial poultry, backyard poultry, ruminants such as cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as swine and equine.
Animal feed is available in multiple formats, including wet/moist food, dry kibble, semi-moist food, frozen, and freeze-dried food, offering flexibility for different dietary needs.
The feed industry incorporates diverse sources such as plant-based, animal-based, and micro-organism-derived ingredients to ensure nutritional balance.
Distribution takes place through direct and indirect sales, including modern trade, animal feed stores, veterinary clinics, and online retailers, making products widely accessible.
The market is segmented as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, East Asia, South Asia & Pacific, Central Asia, Russia and Belarus, Balkan & Baltic Countries, Middle East and Africa.
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