The usage of antibiotics in the food system is causing increasing concerns among the regulatory bodies in many countries. As early as 2006, the European Union banned the usage of antibiotics in animal feed. Since 2017, the United States Food & Drug Administration banned the use of antibiotics as animal feed supplements. With many countries and regions expected to follow suit, the focus has shifted to other additives that can help reduce the usage of antibiotics for livestock farming. Feed additives, probiotics, prebiotics, and enzymes were found to be the most likely candidates to substitute antibiotics. Probiotics have shown growth promotion and strong scientific evidence for efficacy. They are being commercially used as alternatives to antibiotics. The increasingly stringent regulatory framework related to antibiotics and the increased efficacy of probiotics as a substitute are expected to be the major factors leading to the robust growth of the probiotics segment of the medicated feed additives market.

Feed production in Asia-Pacific suffered a minor setback in 2019, on account of the spread of the African Swine Fever, especially in China and Southeast Asian countries. However, the region remains the largest geographical segment in the medicated feed additives market. 

In 2018, the Chinese government launched a pilot program, aiming at the elimination of antibiotics use in the livestock feed by 2020. The implementation of this policy has been creating an impact on the feed industry in the country. Upgradation of feed formulations, such as raw material composition, for meeting the needs of animals at different growth stages, and feed production management, such as the need to upgrade the feed processing technology and drive the formulation change, are the crucial factors expected to affect the feed manufacturers in the country.