India’s animal Feed Industry at the Crossroads of Growth
India remains a dairy and livestock powerhouse—already the world’s largest milk producer and the second-largest egg producer. The domestic animal feed market, currently valued at around US $14 billion (2025), is projected to expand to US $20 billion by 2030 at a ~7 % compounded annual growth rate (CAGR). However, the sector grapples with significant constraints: export bans on feed inputs (notably de-oiled rice bran), competition from biofuel mandates diverting maize, infrastructure gaps, and low technology adoption at the farm level.
In 2023, India’s feed exports peaked at around US $3 billion, but slipped to US $2.3 billion in 2024, largely due to regulatory restrictions and weakening demand. Domestically, dairy and poultry enterprises face feed grain competition from ethanol blending programmes, pushing raw material costs upward. Despite fast growth in volume, productivity per animal remains low versus global leaders, due to limited adoption of improved genetics, poor feed quality, fragmented supply chains, and lack of cold-chain infrastructure.
Industry Insights & Challenges
One of the most acute bottlenecks is feed and fodder security. With export bans on key inputs (DORB) and the redirection of grains to fuel use, the feed industry is squeezed. This stresses the cost structure for dairy farmers, who bear the brunt of input inflation.
Infrastructure remains another critical weakness. Many collection points lack adequate chilling, transport capacity, or certification capabilities, leading to spoilage and quality deterioration. Low levels of awareness and slow uptake of innovations like silage, precision feeding, and automated systems hamper scale and efficiency gains, especially among smallholders.
On the opportunity front, the sector must pivot from volume to value. The path forward lies in higher per-animal yield, value-added dairy products (e.g. specialty powders, fortified products, exports), and digitalization and automation across the supply chain. Global animal feed demand is surging (Asia-Pacific being a major driver), presenting export and investment prospects for Indian feed and ingredient firms. Moreover, automation in milking, herd monitoring, and predictive analytics is emerging as a strong lever for productivity improvements and cost reduction.
Policy coherence will be vital. Harmonizing export rules, incentivizing fodder development, supporting adoption of certified infrastructure and providing subsidies or financing for modernization will determine how fast India can move from being a leader in sheer volume to also being a leader in quality, efficiency, and value.
Source : Dairynews7x7 Oct 10th 2025 Read full story here