Locally Made Animal Feed : BusinessHAB.com.............

Locally Made Animal Feed Production: As a result of the huge demand for animal feed.

Nearly one billion tonnes of compound animal feed is produced in the world every year.

The international trade in animal feed has an estimated annual turnover of nearly $400 billion.

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Read on: 27 Tips to Start Commercial Milling Business

1. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

Just in case you don’t know, animal feed takes up 50 to 70 percent of the total cost of raising animals.

It is the single largest cost any farmer or agribusiness owner will incur.

To produce market-ready animals, no matter the type.

Due to the continent’s rapidly growing population and rising disposable incomes.

The demand for meat products like beef, pork, poultry and fish is growing really fast.

With all these mouths to feed, agriculture.

Especially livestock farming is more than likely to become a booming industry in Africa’s future.

2. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

Despite Africa’s huge demand for the product.

It produces less than one percent of global animal feed output.

The small amounts produced locally are not enough.

And the African market now depends heavily on imported feed from the USA, Europe, Brazil and China.

Most African countries have a rich supply of the essential raw materials used in the manufacture of animal feed.

3. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

These ingredients include feed grains (like millet, soybean and corn).

Cassava chips, groundnuts, oilseed mill products.

Meat and fish formulas and special ingredients like dried coffee residues.

Dried citrus fruit pulp, orange rinds, as well as nutritionally-enhanced meals.

4. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

In fact, most African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Export a lot of these raw materials and ingredients to South America, Europe and Asia.

Especially China, Russia and Japan.

5. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

Manufacturers in these countries use these materials imported from Africa.

To produce animal feed and then sell back to the African market (at higher prices).

Currently, the prices of these raw materials are falling while the price of animal feed is rising rapidly.

As a result, African livestock farmers are buying foreign manufactured feeds at high prices.

6. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

The high cost of feed in Africa is one of the main reasons why poultry.

Meat and fish products made in Africa.

Find it very hard to compete with imported ones from China, Brazil, Europe and the USA.

If more animal feed is produced locally.

The profits on livestock will improve.

And allow local livestock farmers to compete more favourably against imports.

7. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

However, to produce feed that meets the needs of local livestock farmers.

And provides the same (or better) value than imported foreign feed will require.

Some significant investment in machinery, equipment and inventory.

8. Get the needed equipment

Animal feed manufacturing is a capital-intensive business.

To start up, you would require machinery such as bagging equipment.

Boilers, conveyors, mixers, dryers, scales, extruder, pelleting equipment and grinders.

9. Get the needed raw materials

Vehicles will also be required to transport raw materials.

And finished products (although these can be leased when you need them).

The raw materials for making feed will also require a good amount of capital.

To save costs, most feed manufacturers.

Like to take advantage of price fluctuations of feed ingredients.

By buying in bulk when prices are low; or by contracting for supplies months ahead.

Most often, corn and soybean prices are the key drivers of feed production costs around the world.

10. Know the nutritional requirement

It’s very important that the feed you produce meets nutritional requirements.

In terms of energy, protein, fiber and vitamins.

Your main business as a feed manufacturer is to buy the raw materials.

And blend them in the feed mill according to the specifications provided by an animal nutritionist.

11. Locally Made Animal Feed Production

In this business, there is little room for error.

Because if the feed does not contain the right nutrients.

Animals will not grow the amount of meat required for the farmer to make a tidy profit.

12. Know the competitive values

Although locally-produced animal feed faces strong competition.

From foreign manufactured feed.

The size of the demand in the market makes room for local feed makers.

A large number of livestock farmers cannot afford foreign feeds.

And will gladly buy local versions.

Which may not be as nutritious, but are cheap and very affordable.

A recent interesting development is Agri Protein.

A South-Africa based business that makes animal feed from maggots.

Yes, maggots produced by millions of flies on its farms in South Africa.