Shrimp Feed Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Global Shrimp Feed Market Trends and Insights

Rising Global Seafood Consumption and Protein-Rich Diet Preference

Per-capita seafood intake reached 20.2 kg in 2024; shrimp outpaced other crustaceans in volume growth, propelling intensive pond construction that lifted feed demand in Ecuador by 15% year over year^{[3]Food and Agriculture Organization, “Global Aquaculture Production Statistics 2024,” fao.org} . Climbing disposable incomes boost premium protein purchases across Asian urban centers, while retailers reward farms that deploy sustainable feed, lifting price realization. Consumption growth, running 2.3 times faster than chicken in Asia-Pacific, multiplies feed volumes because shrimp require 1.4-1.8 kg of feed for each kilogram harvested.

Advances in Functional Additives and Immunostimulants

Encapsulated probiotics, beta-glucans, and phytobiotics are increasingly integrated into aquaculture diets, demonstrating the ability to reduce shrimp mortality by 12–18% while commanding price premiums of 25–35%. Regulatory developments, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approval of seven new probiotic strains in 2024, have enabled exporters to comply with strict residue-free mandates, reinforcing food safety standards. As global authorities tighten antibiotic thresholds, the adoption of these functional additives is spreading beyond Europe to Asia. This shift is driving reformulation of feeds and adjusting profit margins, reflecting both sustainability and efficiency priorities in modern shrimp farming.

AI-Enabled Precision Feeding Systems

AI-powered computer-vision platforms now monitor shrimp appetite in real-time, allowing farmers to optimize feed distribution. By tailoring feed to actual consumption, feed conversion ratios can drop from 1.7 to 1.3, reducing feed costs by up to 20%. Nutreco's acquisition of Eruvaka integrated significant hectares of ponds into automated, sensor-driven analytics for shrimp growth and pond management. These AI systems provide predictive insights on pond conditions, enabling better planning and more efficient operations, with typical payback periods ranging from 18 to 24 months, enhancing both economic and environmental sustainability in aquaculture production.

Carbon-footprint labeling spurring insect or algae proteins

European retailers increasingly require carbon-footprint labels for frozen seafood products, pushing processors to source low-impact feed ingredients. As a result, alternative protein sources, such as insect and algae-derived ingredients, are moving from niche applications into mainstream, premium recipes. This trend supports sustainability goals while maintaining product quality and traceability, highlighting how environmental labeling is influencing feed formulation strategies and encouraging low-carbon innovations in global aquaculture.

Fishmeal and Fish-Oil Price Volatility

The 2023-2024 El Niño event significantly reduced Peru’s anchovy harvest, causing fishmeal prices to surge. The spike directly affects premium aquafeed formulations that typically include 15–25% fishmeal, squeezing profit margins for feed manufacturers. To manage this volatility, companies are increasingly relying on strategies such as maintaining inventory buffers and partially substituting with insect meals. Margin risks persist when futures prices accelerate faster than adjustments in retail feed pricing, highlighting the ongoing vulnerability of aquaculture supply chains to raw material fluctuations and global climate events.

Disease Outbreaks (EMS and WSSV) Disrupting Feed Demand

Disease outbreaks such as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) and White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) affect shrimp farms across the Asia-Pacific region. These disease cycles slow the adoption of premium feeds, extend accounts receivable periods, and force factories to hold elevated safety stocks, which increases carrying costs. Such disruptions underscore the sensitivity of feed demand to biological risks, emphasizing the importance of biosecurity and proactive farm management to maintain supply stability.

Segment Analysis

By Feed Type: Functional Products Unlock Premium Margins

Grower diets represented 45.5% of the shrimp feed market size in 2024 due to longer grow-out phases in intensive ponds that consume the bulk of rations. Functional and medicated lines, while smaller, are expanding at a 9.0% CAGR because immunity boosters ease mortality fears and attract export premiums. Formulators load beta-glucans, essential oils, and targeted probiotics that cut ammonia and enhance gut health. As a result, farms switching to these blends report 8-12% better feed conversion, underpinning willingness to absorb 25-35% price uplifts. Antibiotic mandates in Europe push Asian exporters to embrace additive-rich recipes, cementing demand upside without breaching drug residue thresholds. 

Starter diets remain critical but niche, serving high-value hatchery windows; they command margin multipliers because formulations must deliver micro-particle stability and vitamin density. Finisher feeds focus on muscle accretion and pigment deposition to hit retail color grades. Although these segments account for less volume, technology efforts target micro-encapsulation and digestibility aids to raise final harvest quality. Balanced portfolios thus help manufacturers hedge volume against value, sustaining overall shrimp feed market growth.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Form: Liquid Innovations Challenge Pellet Dominance

Pellets still shaped 66.0% of the shrimp feed market size in 2024, backed by entrenched extrusion lines and farmer familiarity. Yet liquid alternatives clock a 10.0% CAGR by delivering nutrients via recirculating systems that reduce pond waste. Early adopters in super-intensive Ecuadorian raceways showcase 15-20% lower feed conversion when liquids replace part of the pellet ration. Crumbles serve transitional nursery stages, representing a modest share of volume, while powders cater to supplementation protocols in hatcheries. Regulatory frameworks lag, but pilot approvals in Europe signal a compliance path that should accelerate uptake.

Pellet suppliers are not standing still; binding advances improve sink rate and nutrient retention, narrowing performance gaps. Many dual-line factories now co-produce pellets and liquids, allowing flexible output tailored to farmer system design. As capital budgets loosen, liquid systems gain share in the shrimp feed market, especially where water reuse mandates tighten discharge standards.

By Shrimp Species: Genetics Reshape Demand Allocation

Pacific White shrimp retained 62.5% of the shrimp feed market size in 2024 due to a feed conversion near 1.4 and tolerance for broad salinity ranges. Selective breeding programs deliver lines that resist Vibrio and thrive in inland brackish ponds, widening geographic scope. Black Tiger shrimp impressed with a 7.6% CAGR as genomic tools restored disease resilience and supported premium niche pricing. Formulators adjust amino-acid ratios and pigment blends to match species-specific metabolisms, strengthening brand differentiation. Lesser-produced species such as kuruma shrimp occupy regional pockets where culinary heritage dictates preference, offering short production windows but high price ceilings.

Species diversification insulates growers from market price swings, but raises feed R&D burdens since each genotype optimizes performance under distinct nutrient keys. Multispecies producers, therefore, demand technical service packages alongside feed, favoring suppliers able to run on-farm trials and customize rations swiftly. This capability separates global majors from regional vendors and deepens competitive moats in the shrimp feed market.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific delivered 70.5% of the shrimp feed market size in 2024, on volumes from China, Vietnam, India, and Thailand, supported by mature infrastructure and dense coastal farming corridors. Governments continue to subsidize pond lining, aeration, and feed management solutions to sustain rural livelihoods and export earnings. As environmental regulations tighten, premium feed formulas that reduce effluent nitrogen gain share, allowing manufacturers to reposition portfolios toward sustainability-linked products. The region persists as the launchpad for AI feeding trials, given concentrated pond clusters that speed collective learning and diffusion. 

Africa, smaller, is projected to advance fastest at 9.8% CAGR during the forecast period as Egypt’s integrated rice-shrimp projects reach scale and Nigeria’s cold-chain build-out unlocks domestic consumption. Feed imports fill near-term gaps, but new mills in Lagos and Port Said plan capacity that will localize supply within five years. Nigeria’s public-private hatchery partnerships improve seed quality, unlocking feed demand by enhancing survival rates. Yet logistics hurdles persist; imported soybean meal and fishmeal must clear congested ports, lengthening lead times. 

South America maintains a disciplined growth path, guided by Ecuador’s world-leading harvest yields that exceed 6 tons per hectare in optimized ponds. Zero-water-exchange systems protect against pathogen ingress and reduce discharge penalties, reinforcing the need for stable, water-friendly feeds. Brazil’s inland farms in Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte offset coastal space constraints, but longer haul distances for feed inputs raise delivered costs. Regional free-trade pacts facilitate ingredient flow from Peru and Chile, cushioning volatility.