By Ramanuj Panda, founder and CEO of GoCarin Industries Pvt Ltd.
India’s animal feed industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by technological advancements and evolving market dynamics. As the sector adapts to modern challenges, several key technologies and opportunities are emerging, reshaping the landscape of animal feed supply chains.
Technological Innovations Reshaping the Industry
Precision Livestock Farming (PLF): PLF integrates advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics to monitor and manage livestock health and productivity. By utilising sensors and real-time data, farmers can make informed decisions, leading to optimised feed usage and improved animal welfare. Although still in its early stages in India, PLF holds significant potential for enhancing efficiency in animal husbandry. For instance, IoT devices can track vital signs like heart rate and body temperature, allowing for early disease detection and timely intervention. In dairy farming, these technologies can monitor milking processes and predict lactation patterns, thereby improving milk production efficiency.
Sustainable Feed Ingredients: The shift towards environmentally friendly feed components is gaining momentum. Alternative protein sources such as insect proteins, algae, and single-cell proteins are being explored to reduce reliance on traditional ingredients like soy and fishmeal, which have notable ecological footprints. This approach not only addresses sustainability concerns but also diversifies the feed supply chain. Innovations showcased at events like the IPAAF 2025 include insect-based protein feed and organic probiotic feed solutions, highlighting the industry’s commitment to sustainable practices.
Digital Transformation and Smart Farming: The adoption of digital tools, including AI-driven precision nutrition and IoT-enabled monitoring systems, is revolutionising feed production processes. Automated facilities equipped with these technologies enhance efficiency and productivity, allowing for real-time tracking of feed intake, animal health indicators, and overall farm management. For example, cloud-based aquaculture pond management solutions enable intelligent control of aerators and feeders, reducing production costs and risks while improving yield and feed conversion ratios.
Opportunities in the Evolving Market
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The Indian animal feed market is on the cusp of significant transformation, buoyed by favourable economic trends, shifting consumer preferences, and global trade dynamics. Valued at approximately USD 14.34 billion in 2024, the market is projected to reach nearly USD 21.02 billion by 2034. This anticipated expansion, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.90%, underscores the sector’s growing importance in India’s broader agricultural and economic landscape. Multiple converging factors—ranging from domestic demand shifts to export potential and policy changes—are driving this evolution and opening up new opportunities within the supply chain.
One of the primary catalysts behind this growth is the rising demand for high-quality animal products. India’s expanding middle class, along with rapid urbanization and rising income levels, is significantly influencing dietary habits. Traditional vegetarian diets are increasingly making room for more animal protein consumption, including meat, eggs, and dairy. This dietary transition, largely concentrated in urban and peri-urban regions, has created a surge in demand for better quality livestock products, which in turn places greater pressure on livestock farmers to enhance productivity and ensure nutritional adequacy. As a result, there is an increased need for high-quality, nutritionally balanced feed that supports animal health, optimizes growth rates, and improves yields. This presents a lucrative opportunity for animal feed manufacturers to not only expand production capacity but also to innovate—formulating feeds that are tailored for specific livestock species and stages of growth, with added functional benefits such as improved digestion or enhanced immunity.
Another key development shaping India’s feed sector is the emerging export potential, particularly in the context of surplus production of certain feed ingredients. A notable example is India’s growing export of rapeseed meal, a protein-rich byproduct of oil extraction. Rapeseed meal has become increasingly attractive in global markets, especially in Asia. Recently, China—one of the world’s largest consumers of feed—has ramped up its imports of Indian rapeseed meal. In fact, in a span of just three weeks, China imported 52,000 tons of Indian rapeseed meal, which is four times the quantity it had imported from India in the entire previous year. This surge in demand from China is not coincidental; it reflects a strategic shift to compensate for the reduction in rapeseed meal imports from Canada, which have declined due to geopolitical and trade disruptions. The willingness of China to diversify its feed imports and include India as a significant supplier opens new doors for Indian feed exporters and signals a potential to scale up production for international markets.
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