The Africa Poultry Feed Market size is estimated at USD 21.69 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 26.63 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.19% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
Africa's poultry business is booming because of the continent's growing population and socioeconomic expansion as Africans source their animal protein from chicken and eggs. Notably, Africa produces only 4% of the world's chicken poultry products. Thus, there is a need to enhance Africa's poultry production to match the rising consumption rates. The African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) suggests that African countries should build innovation and technological capacity to tackle these poultry-related challenges. This can extensively expand the production capacity of poultry production across Africa. APET encourages poultry farmers to utilize innovative approaches and technologies, such as automatic water dispensers, robotics, and automated feeders are emerging as key technologies to improve poultry farming in Africa. Poultry Africa will also focus on increasing local production thereby decreasing dependency on imports. However, African countries should enhance an enabling environment for farming innovation and technologies through strong investments, policies, and regulations. This can enable Africa to accomplish nutrition and food security.
Poultry farming in Africa is one of the biggest business opportunities on the continent. The African population's love for poultry meat and eggs has grown at a staggering pace, leading to increased poultry production, which has boosted the region's poultry feed market. Chicken meat is considered one of the most widely preferred meats among consumers in the region. The demand for white meat is observed to be increasing in the region due to its affordability and the growing perception among consumers that it is healthier than red meat. Due to increasing health awareness among consumers, the demand for chicken meat and its products is anticipated to increase over the coming years.
Poultry products are among the most affordable foods and are a healthy protein source with no religious restrictions. In addition, they have the lowest environmental footprint in terms of water use per kilogram of meat or eggs produced, land use, and environmental stress. According to FAO statistics, the African region witnessed 2.19 billion heads of chicken in 2021. The growth in demand for livestock products has not been matched by similar growth in domestic livestock production. Higher unmet demand, thus, led to an increased dependence on meat imports.
Therefore, the fast-growing poultry industry is anticipated to boost the poultry feed market further over the coming years. The high dependence on meat imports holds despite South Africa, a large economy in both population size and income terms, having a relatively well-developed livestock sector.
South Africa holds the major share of the poultry feed market as the country leads in terms of poultry production in the region. Poultry is the largest industry in the South African agriculture sector, accounting for 19.8% of total agricultural production and 40% of total animal products. In comparison to other African nations, the South African market has already developed. Due to the country's ongoing economic expansion and rising disposable incomes among households, there would be a rising demand for chicken meat, which will also raise feed demand.
The production of poultry meat in South Africa increased over the years followed by Egypt, Uganda Zambia, and Morocco, owing to the growth in the requirement for quality and safe animal protein products. Poultry meat is the highest consumed animal meat in South Africa with a per capita consumption of 33 kg in 2019 as compared to beef per capita consumption of 17 kg/year and 7 kg/year for eggs. Furthermore, as per the South African Poultry Association, the average per capita consumption of chicken reached nearly 39 kg in 2020, more than double the beef consumption of 16kg and more than four times the 9kg of egg consumption. Another trend of fast-food chains, such as KFC, has made deals with the main broiler producers to secure local meat. In Senegal, KFC franchises belong to the Sedima group, the country's biggest broiler producer. Chicken is just so much more affordable than beef.
The South African poultry feed market is well-established compared to other African countries. The demand for poultry feed is likely to continue to rise due to a growing population, a surge in demand for quality meat products, and a spike in consumer spending, which boosts animal protein consumption. According to the country's Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (DAFF), the increasing demand for meat in South Africa is a key driver for the rising demand for feed. Therefore, huge consumption demand and enormous poultry production are aiding the poultry feed market in the country.
The African poultry feed market is fragmented with global and regional players. The major players in the market are Cargill Inc., Kemin Industries, Nutreco, Nova Feeds, and Serfco, among others. Poultry feed firms are actively adopting strategies like product innovation, mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships to increase their sales. The market players are also investing in research and development to launch new products frequently.
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