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Making significant progress in poultry, fish and cattle husbandry within a decade, the sector people now opt for bulk export of animal feed – a tremendous potential sector for forex requiring policy support to be tapped.
According to the sector people, the country can now export nearly 15 lakh metric tonnes of animal feed and more policy support is instrumental in realising its potential.
The feed include maize, wheat and soybean granules as well as those of green grass. Soybean and maize account for more than 80 per cent of ingredients for poultry and fish feed.
According to the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC) feed production increased by around 40 per cent in the last four years.
“It was 38,97,564 MT in 2017 which stood at 65,67,551 MT in 2020. The country can produce more than 78,81,061 MT feed in a year,” according to the BPICC data.
Some 44.50 lakh MT of feed are produced commercially, of which 15.90 lakh MT are fish feed and 5.27 lakh MT cattle feed.
The annual demand for animal feed in Bangladesh is around 64 lakh metric tonnes. The consumption came down to around 17,30,049 metric tonnes due to the pandemic in 2020.
The BPICC data shows that there are more than 200 feed mills -- large and small -- out of which 85 are registered with the Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh.
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) in 2019, some 217 feed mills are registered with it while only 135-140 renewed their licences.
The majority of FIAB-registered feed mills are modern and automated. Their minimum production capacity is five metric tonnes (MT) and maximum 80-90 metric tonnes per hour.
The feed Industry has created around one lakh in Bangladesh.
Of them, there are around 30,000 semi-skilled and general workers and 3,000 skilled workers and professionals engaged in regular business. The present annual growth rate is approximately 15 per cent to 18 per cent.
So far nine companies have got approval (NOC) to export animal feed. Of them, eight have exported 1,172 metric tonnes of their product to India’s seven sisters like Tripura and Assam, and to Nepal in 2019 and 2020. Of the export volume, some 877 MT were fish feed and 295 MT poultry feed.
Paragon Group exported 260 MT of poultry feed and Aleya Feed Ltd 35 MT.
Besides, Agata Feed Mills Ltd exported 250 MT Fish feed; CP Bangladesh Co. Ltd 400 MT; AG Agro Industries Ltd 12 MT; Quality Feed Ltd 15 MT; Aleya Feed Ltd 15 MT; RRP Feed Mills Ltd 80 MT; and Nourish Poultry Group 105 MT in 2019 and 2020.
Talking to The Business Post, Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB) General Secretary Ahsanuzzaman said the feed industry has been witnessing a fast growth year-on-year over the last one decade, but the trend came down to 20-25 per cent last year due to the pandemic.
“Before the Covid-19 period, animal feed were produced around six lakh tonnes per month. The annual demand for poultry, cattle and fish feed is around 60-70 lakh metric tonnes in the country,” he also added.
“We are sufficient in feed production. We have no need to import any feed, but some businesses import “Vitamin” for fattening animals.”
The prices of feed have increased owing to rise in prices of maize and soybean in the global market.
Sources said some unregistered feed millers are producing low-quality feed creating an impact on the leading companies.
According to an international research organisation, the turnover of Bangladesh feed industry was Tk 10,000 crore in 2017.
Globally, the feed industry generates about $ 400 billion from compound annual feed production of 1 billion tonnes and more than 130 countries are involved in the production process or sale of feed, according to the findings of International Feed Industry Federation.
BPICC president Moshiur Rahman urged the government to upgrade all polices related to poultry, fish, cattle and hatchery sectors as soon as possible.
“It is necessary to set up poultry export zone in the country for the sake of more foreign exchange earnings. Besides, fish feed policy should be amended in no time,” he suggested.
Moshiur expected that the country can earn a handsome amount of foreign exchange by exporting egg, fish, meat, feed, poultry and processed food if the government comes up with proper policy support.
Agata Feed Mills Ltd Director Debangshu Bikash Bhowmik told The Business Post that, “Though the feed business is not good now for pandemic, we exported 250 metric tonnes of fish feed in 2019 and 2020 in India.”
The prices of raw materials went up by 30-40 per cent in the last one and half years in the global market,
he said, adding that, “Now we have to purchase a tonne of maize for $ 280- $ 300 dollar which was $ 180- $ 210 dollar a year ago.”
Besides, a tonne of soybean price increased by around $ 200 dollar from $ 380- $ 400 to $ 580- $ 600 during the pandemic.
Anwar Hossain, proprietor of Moni Dairy Firm at Keraniganj, said the expenditure of cattle firming has gone up in line with the soaring feed prices recently.
“The price of each sack of husk increased from Tk 100 to Tk 150 within a span of just one month due to supply crunch. We purchase wheat bran of per 37-kilogramme sack for Tk 1,350, rice husk of per 40kg sack at Tk 550 and lentil bran at Tk 1200. Besides, we produce feed from green grass that is also costlier,” he explained.
“There is a kind of harmful animal feed in the market which is imported from overseas to fatten animal quickly. We fight shy of that one. We nurture our cattle naturally.”
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim recently at a programme said policy coordination and guidelines are more significant in the SAARC region for the welfare of South Asian nations to enhance regional trade for livestock and animal products.
“Bangladesh has made an unprecedented progress in the livestock sector over the last one decade.
Following a huge success of the poultry and dairy sector, the government is laying emphasis on diversification
and export of animal feed,” added the minister.
