The challenge grain and feed processors face in feeding the world’s rapidly growing population, particularly Asia’s increasingly affluent, protein-craving middle class, was a much discussed topic at the 2016 PIX and Feed Conference held in May on the Gold Coast in Australia.

A record 1,500 people attended the conference, which included representatives from the feed and flour milling industries as well as suppliers to those industries who showcased their latest products on the trade show floor. Tim Hart, CEO of Ridley Corporation Ltd., a large feed supplier based in Melbourne, Australia, described the challenge of feeding a growing world population as well as Australia’s own population growth, which is projected to increase to 30 million by 2030. Australians will want more chicken (with demand projected to grow 3% per year), fish (up 25% by 2022) and dairy products, Hart said.

Australian agribusiness has the resources to meet the growing demand in the aforementioned areas, but Hart said livestock production will increase only if there’s an equivalent growth in the feed industry.

In outlining Ridley’s sustainability vision, Hart said the company wants to improve the cost of feed-to-yield ratio for its customers. To do so, Ridley has focused on improving quality, nutritional expertise and yield performance while simultaneously lowering merchandising, by-products, location and freight to reduce the cost of the feed. Ridley, he said, wants to maximize the difference between these quality, nutritional and yield performance and feed costs.

Hart noted that the aquaculture industry has great potential for growth. While it’s still a small industry in Australia, aquaculture has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 11% over the last 20 years, he said. In Asia, which represents 90% of global aquaculture production, farmed fish will exceed wild catch by 2018.

“The two major growers are both investing in new farms and biomass to continue growth,” Hart said.

He said the biggest challenge the aquaculture industry faces is a decline in the raw material needed for fish feed, but this may be addressed by using novel raw materials, including terrestrial animals, to meet demand.

Source: World Grain // Original Article