Europe Aqua Feed Market - Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2020 - 2025)

The European consumers had access to around 17.24 million metric ton of seafood in 2016. The region's net domestic supply of seafood for human consumption amounted to 7.84 million metric tons in 2016, an increase of 1.4%, while imports totaled 9.4 million metric ton, up by 1.78%. The region’s per capita consumption in 2018 increased to 24.33 kg, according to the European Commission. Tuna, salmon, and cod were the species in the highest demand in the market. Luring new consumers into the sector and reviving the less active consumers have been the key challenges in the industry in recent years. It is evident from the recent figures, that the opportunity to continue building on the current momentum and grow further is vibrant in Europe. The increased per capita consumption of aquaculture products and the benefits associated with the seafood products are expected to intensify the commercial aqua production in the country. This factor is expected to drive the aquafeed market in the future.

The distinguishing feature that characterizes the fish feed industry in the European Union is the ongoing research and consideration of alternative protein sources, such as fish trimmings, insects, and other invertebrate-based ingredients in fish feed, in lieu of fish meal from the wild fish catch. As the production of fish meal and oil, is an important fraction of the diet of farmed fish, is posing a serious threat to marine ecology and environment, initiatives such as the INvertebrateIT EU Project can help augment and stabilize the production of fish feed in the region with minimal environmental footprint. Europe ranked second in the production of fish feed with a production volume of 5.9 million metric tons in 2016, a substantial increase from 3.2 million metric tons registered in 2015. The upsurge in the feed production volume can be attributed to the corresponding rise in fish production, both freshwater and marine, in the region.