Development status and trends of aquatic seed feed industry

Development status and trends of aquatic seed feed industry

In recent years, the vigorous development of aquaculture has brought huge market demand for aquatic seed feed industry. The industry has shown development characteristics in many aspects such as output, variety, and competition pattern. At the same time, it also faces some challenges and has a clear development trend in the future.

Industry development status

Output fluctuates but the scale is still considerable

China's aquatic feed production has generally experienced fluctuations in recent years. In 2022, China's aquatic feed production reached 25.257 million tons, up 10.15% year-on-year. However, affected by multiple factors such as extreme weather and sluggish aquatic product market, the output in 2023 declined to 23.44 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.56 million tons, a year-on-year decline of 4.9%, and the output in 2024 is expected to be 22.78 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.8%. However, even with the decline in output, the industry still maintains a certain market size.

Increasing variety

Aquatic feed varieties have expanded from a single fish feed to a variety of aquatic species such as shrimp, crab, and shellfish. At present, domestic aquatic feed is mainly composed of general water feed, but although the output of special water feed accounts for only about 10%, its gross profit margin can generally reach 15% or even more than 20%, while the gross profit margin of general water feed is generally around 10%.

The competition pattern is scattered but the concentration is increasing

The competition pattern of the aquatic feed industry is relatively scattered, but the market concentration is gradually increasing. Large enterprises such as Haida Group, Tongwei Co., Ltd., and New Hope have occupied a large market share by virtue of their technological research and development advantages and large-scale production. Small and medium-sized enterprises have occupied a place in the industry through precise positioning and regional advantages.

Industry development trend

Technological innovation and product diversification

In the future, aquatic feed will be precisely customized according to the type, growth stage, breeding environment and health status of different aquatic animals to meet their specific nutritional needs. At the same time, biotechnology (such as enzyme preparations, probiotics, fermentation technology, etc.) will be more widely used to improve the digestibility and quality of feed. In addition, for different species of aquatic animals, special feeds and functional feeds with specific nutrients and functions will be developed.

Intelligent production

With the help of intelligent equipment and automated production lines, precise control of the feed production process can be achieved, and production efficiency and product quality stability can be improved, which will become a key means for enterprises to enhance their competitiveness.

Industry chain integration and coordinated development

Enterprises will pay more attention to the integration of the industrial chain, and realize the transformation from feed suppliers to comprehensive service providers by extending to upstream raw material production and seed breeding, as well as downstream aquaculture, processing, sales and other links. At the same time, strengthen the collaborative cooperation with related industries such as aquaculture, aquatic processing, and scientific research institutions to form industrial alliances or cooperative communities to jointly promote the development of the aquatic feed industry.

Environmental protection and sustainable development

With the improvement of environmental awareness and the advancement of sustainable development goals, the aquatic feed industry will pay more and more attention to high efficiency and environmental protection. At the same time, actively explore alternative protein sources (such as insect protein, algae protein, etc.) to reduce dependence on traditional animal proteins such as fish meal.

Intensified market competition and brand building

With the continuous development of the market and the increase in industry concentration, competition in the aquatic feed industry will become more intense. Enterprises need to continuously improve their core competitiveness (including product quality, technological innovation, cost control, service level, etc.), and focus on brand image building and brand value enhancement to gain a foothold in the market.

Overall, the aquatic seed and feed industry has broad market development prospects, but it also faces many challenges. Enterprises in the industry need to actively adapt to development trends in order to gain an advantage in the competition.