Interpretation on the Development Status & Future Trends of China’s Feed Industry

On October 15–16, 2026, Bühler (Changzhou) 20th Anniversary Celebration & Global Value Nutrition Summit was held in Changzhou. Wang Zongli, President of China Feed Industry Association, delivered a keynote speech titled Development Status and Future Trends of China’s Feed Industry. The report reviews the milestones of China’s feed sector, analyzes core challenges, and forecasts long-term development directions, delivering valuable insights for enterprises across the feed and animal nutrition value chain.

1. Industry Achievements: World’s No.1 Feed Producer for 15 Consecutive Years

China’s feed industry started in 1978 and has evolved over four decades through three major phases: prioritizing output supply, then feed safety & quality, and now focusing on production efficiency. In 2025, China’s industrial feed output reached 342 million tons, accounting for roughly one quarter of global production, ranking first worldwide for 15 straight years. The sector achieved an output value of 1.28 trillion RMB, with 14,900 active manufacturers. It fuels an upstream-downstream industrial chain worth 5 trillion RMB and employs nearly one million workers.

By product category, swine feed takes the largest share at 48.6% of total output, followed by poultry feed at 29.5%. Driven by consumption upgrading, aquafeed, ruminant feed and pet feed are emerging as high-growth segments. Five core provinces — Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi, Liaoning and Henan — contribute 45% of national feed output, while western regions maintain rapid growth and optimize the national production layout.

A complete quality standard system has been built, covering 302 national standards, 267 industrial standards, more than 200 group standards and nearly 2,000 enterprise standards. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the qualified rate of feed sampling inspection stays above 98%, and the pass rate for veterinary residue tests hits 99.7%, matching developed-country benchmarks.

2. Industry Performance, Jan–Sep 2026

In the first three quarters of 2026, total feed output grew steadily with obvious structural differentiation, reaching 262 million tons (+3.5% YoY):

• Swine feed: 126.69 million tons (+5.6% YoY), still the industry cornerstone with moderating growth;
• Poultry feed: under cyclical pressure. Layer feed 22.85 million tons (-8.0% YoY), broiler feed 76.86 million tons (+1.8% YoY), fluctuating with livestock cycles;
• High-growth segments: ruminant feed +4.6%, aquafeed +10.0%, pet feed +24.4%. Rising consumer demand fuels rapid expansion of these niche markets.

3. Four Core Challenges at This Transformation Stage

The feed industry is at a critical uphill stage, facing intertwined constraints:

1. Resource limitations: Feed grain consumes 55.5% of China’s total grain supply. High external dependence on protein raw materials such as soybean and fishmeal brings persistent global supply chain risks;
2. Insufficient innovation: Overall R&D investment remains low. Digital technologies including AI precision feeding are poorly adopted by small & medium manufacturers. Key indicators such as feed conversion ratio still lag behind international advanced levels;
3. Homogenized competition: Excess production capacity and similar product formulas trigger fierce price competition and squeeze profit margins;
4. Stringent green & environmental regulations: Policies on emission reduction, antibiotic ban and phosphorus reduction raise formulation costs for low-protein and antibiotic-free diets, creating heavy green-transition burdens for SMEs.

4. Six Major Trends for High-Quality Industrial Upgrade

1. Steady output growth & higher market concentration: Industrial feed output is projected to hit 350 million tons by 2030 and 380 million tons by 2035. CR10 concentration ratio is expected to rise to 60% by 2030.
2. Diversified raw material portfolio: Break the traditional corn-soybean formula system. Leverage synthetic biology and animal nutrition science to develop novel, highly digestible, low-emission feed ingredients.
3. Deep integration of precision nutrition & digital monitoring: Combine AI, real-time detection and omics technology to dynamically analyze animal nutritional requirements and deliver customized precision nutrition solutions.
4. Shift to integrated service model: Evolve from simple feed suppliers to full-service partners covering nutrition, breeding, environmental management, gut health and immune regulation, supporting antibiotic-free farming and disease risk reduction.
5. Downstream coverage for small-scale family farms: Cater to rural revitalization strategy, supplying small-batch, multi-variety, tailored feed and local services for family farms and small breeders.
6. Global market expansion beyond domestic stock competition: Leading players accelerate overseas layout, adopting dual strategies: export of finished feed & additives, plus local production via overseas factories and joint ventures.

Closing Remarks

The feed industry underpins stable supply of meat, eggs and milk and safeguards national food security. The sector will keep advancing along the path of grain-saving efficiency, technological innovation, low-carbon development and global collaboration. We will continue tracking cutting-edge industry updates, cooperate with all supply-chain partners to seize opportunities and drive sustainable, high-quality growth.