Fish feed are placed in the middle of the aquaculture value chain. Raw materials of marine or land based origin are mixed with other important ingredients to feed pellets, which through their transformation in the fish are important for the final quality of the fresh fish or the processed fish products for the consumers. The fish feed plays an important role in the value chain as it implies important control of the quality of raw materials, which is crucial for the food safety as well as efficient high quality feed types that ensures optimal growth for different fish species farmed under a variety of different conditions. Though the feed cost has to be controlled as this is most often app. 50% of the total production cost in aquaculture.
The aquaculture industry is driven by factors, such as increasing fish consumption across the world and growth in processed seafood due to an increase in the income of the middle-class population in the developing countries. Demand for high-quality aqua feed from the industry, owing to the growth in the aquaculture industry, has led to increased demand for compound feed and feed additives.
The India Aquaculture Feed Market was valued at USD 1.20 billion in 2017 and is expected to register a CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period (2018-2023). India feed mills have the capacity to produce 2.88 million metric ton. Andhra Pradesh is the largest feed consuming state in India. The coastal line of the country is about 7,517 kilometers with 195.20 kilometers of river and canal systems. The country consists of 14 rivers, 44 medium rivers, and many small rivers. The country also has tanks and ponds. By these sources, it is clear that the aquaculture industry is huge in India which provides huge opportunity and potential for aquaculture feed industry.
There are many available feed ingredients for aquaculture industry. Fresh water aquaculture constitutes few important and majorly used feed ingredients like defiled rice bran, wheat bran, cotton seed cake, and groundnut cake. Fish meal, squid meal, cereal flour, squid meal, fish oils, propriety additives are used in shrimp feed industry formulations. Farm made feed consists of mixture of rice bran, wheat bran and oilseed cake. The fish feed market has witnessed an exponential growth due to growing consumption of seafood and growth of aquaculture industry. Thus, due to demand it is best to invest in this project.
Few Indian major players are as under
Grobest Feeds Corpn. (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Mulpuri Foods & Feeds Pvt. Ltd.
Rasoya Proteins Ltd
Shivshakti Agro (India) Ltd.
Taiyo Feed Mill Pvt. Ltd.
Wens Industries Pvt. Ltd.
