Italy Alfalfa Hay Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Italy Alfalfa Hay Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Italian alfalfa hay market is projected to register a CAGR of 2.3% during the forecast period.

• Alfalfa plays a significant role as a type of livestock forage for animal feed due to its high protein and digestible fiber content. The crop is mainly used for feeding dairy cows, cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Italy is one of the key countries producing alfalfa. The increasing demand for dairy and meat products and the need to enhance feed quality are expected to drive the market’s growth.
• The major factors influencing the alfalfa hay market include the increasing demand for quality hay for livestock and cattle population, prices of alfalfa hay, and price trends in alternative feed and forage. The use of alfalfa hay has become critical to poultry feed, followed by animal feed, since alfalfa hay is an excellent source of protein, both in content and quality.
• Dependence on alfalfa hay for animal feed may continue to drive the market over the forecast period. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the total cattle population accounted for 6,280.2 thousand heads in 2021 which was higher than the 6,400.0 thousand heads during the previous year, 2020.
• The increasing demand for dairy and animal products, shrinking land for grazing animals, growth in high-yielding cattle, and bred cattle demand for feed are driving the alfalfa hay market globally. The demand from commercial dairy operators for alfalfa hay is expected to increase due to the increase in investment in huge-scale dairy operations during the forecast period. However, the decreasing land acreage due to drastically growing urbanization, competition related to high-value crops, and water restrictions are some of the important factors hindering the growth of the alfalfa hay market.

• The annual growth of meat and milk production in developing countries is projected to be 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively, till 2030. This is expected to increase the country's meat production by 66% (247 million metric tons) and milk production by 55% (484 million metric tons). Furthermore, there has been immense pressure on the livestock sector to meet the increasing demand for high-value animal protein across the globe.
• According to Eurostat, in the year 2020, the per capita consumption of pig meat reached 32.5 kg per head and has remained relatively unchanged since 2019. The same is true for beef and poultry in Italy, withstanding fluctuations. In 2019, the average monthly household expenditure on beef products totaled USD 34.03. The average monthly expenditure on poultry products totaled USD 20.94.
• The population of cattle has been growing while registering a robust growth rate. The rising demand for dairy products and high-quality animal feed is the major factor driving the market growth of alfalfa hay across the region. The crop is mainly used for feeding dairy cows, cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The dairy sector is essentially boosting the demand for alfalfa hay in Italy. This demand from other countries is creating export opportunities, augmenting alfalfa hay's production volumes.

• Livestock is a major factor responsible for the growth of the alfalfa hay market. Annual growth of meat production and milk production in developing countries is increasing. Alfalfa, a good nutrition source, is the main feed for cattle and poultry.
• The Italy alfalfa market is expected to witness significant growth during the coming years owing to the benefits of alfalfa, including high nutrient content and a rich source of protein and energy, which helps improve lactation, reproduction, maintenance, and growth of livestock.
• Consumers of various demographics in Italy consider red meat and poultry products an important source of nutrition/protein. Per capita consumption of these items has expanded fast, resulting in increased production of meat products. According to the European Commission study, 2020, Italians consumed 55 kg of meat per capita per year, with pig, poultry, and cattle meat accounting for 46%, 27%, and 25% of total meat consumption, respectively. Other meat categories account for 2% of total meat consumption.
• According to the AllTech Feed survey, Italy had a total of 417 feed mills. It was estimated to produce 14.5 million metric tons of feed in 2019. Pork feed production accounted for the major share of feed production at 3.731 million metric tons, followed by poultry feed production of 2.940 million metric tons in 2019.
• Hence the increasing production denotes the increasing demand for alfalfa hay in the animal feed industry in the country during the forecast period.

The global alfalfa hay market is extremely fragmented, with key players like Gruppo Carli, Bagioni Group, Alfalfa Monegros SL, Anderson Hay & Grain Inc., and Al Dahra ACX Global Inc. There were only a few strategies that were observed in the market, made by the players globally during the study period. Companies not only compete on new product launches but also focus on strategic moves, such as mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships, to gain larger market shares in the country. Along with mergers and acquisitions, partnerships also added the advantage of building up the company’s revenue in the segment and obtaining good market shares. The companies strive to strengthen their base by offering enhanced product features, competitive pricing, better quality, increased scale of operations, and technological innovation. The increased livestock farming has fueled the demand for alfalfa hay suitable for different types of animals.

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