The production of poultry feed across Europe is expected to decline 5.2% during 2020 in response to the loss of production during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The provisional figures have been produced by FEFAC, the trade body representing animal feed manufacturers across Europe.
The organisation said there had been a significant reduction in demand for poultry feed. In certain countries the expected loss in production has been estimated to be up to 10 % compared to 2019.
Overall, the estimate for EU-27 poultry feed production is expected provisionally to show a reduction of 5.2%, partially reversing the positive trend over the past decade. The trend is also being driven by other factors including the import of poultry products into the EU from third countries, currently causing an oversupply and new outbreaks of avian influenza in central and south-eastern Europe/
During 2019, poultry feed production in Europe increased by 0.1 %. FEFAC said improvements in genetics meant greater feed efficiency gains, which would continue to limit growth in feed sales in the years to come. EU poultry feed production remains the leading segment of EU industrial compound feed production.