WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 25 t by 2015 (Fig. 3). By then, floating feed is expected to constitute 31 percent of all formulated aquafeeds. In addition to commercial pelleted feeds, more than 0.30.4 million t of farmmade pelleted feeds are also produced in farming areas. The number of farmmade pellet mills is difficult to estimate, but there are at least 1000 (Fig. 4). Simple pellet mills can be easily manufactured in local workshops for around $2500. It is used to crush ingredients such as dried fish and maize that are then mixed manually with other feed ingredients and mechanically forced through a die to produce long ‘strings’ that are later air-dried and broken into small pieces before feeding (Fig. 5). Operators of these machines often face difficulties with inadequate pellet binding and drying, and lack the knowledge and awareness needed to formulate feeds that provide sufficient nutritional value. There are around 100 mills producing commercial aquafeeds in Bangladesh, among which 8-10 large operators account for 6070 percent of market share (Table 3, Fig. 6). Almost all mills also produce poultry feeds. Fifteen companies have installed extruders in their factories and two companies import floating feed from India and Thailand. There are around 20 commercial feed mills around the country that manufacture feed on a rental basis. These mills are used by large farmers to produce feed to meet their requirements and by feed traders who brand and sell feed in the local area at relatively low cost. They customize their formulation and pricing depends on the buying capacity of local farmers. The rental or processing cost for use of these mills is US$ 26-38/t for sinking feed. Few extruders are available for rent, although there are two or three mills with extruders that charge US$ 103-128/t to produce floating aquafeed. Poor knowledge of formulation often leads to the production of low-quality, poorperformance feed from these facilities. Vertical integration has been increasing recently, with feed companies expanding the range of support services and inputs provided to farmers and dealers to capture greater market share. Eight feed companies currently supply customers with aquafeed and monosex tilapia fingerlings from their own hatcheries, a marketing concept that originated in the poultry sector. Two large industrial groups have already established vertically integrated operations encompassing hatchery, feed manufacture, grow-out and processing, although processing capacity is not fully satisfied by fish produced within the group. Aquafeed Ingredients Based on favorable temperatures and water availability, the main season for commercial fish culture generally starts in March and continues until November, so the greatest volumes of aquafeeds are produced from April to September. Aquafeeds are specially formulated and/or branded for specific species in the following proportions: pangasius (60-65 percent), tilapia (35-45 percent), climbing perch (10-15 percent), carp and others (2-5 percent), shrimp and prawn (2-3 percent). Aquafeeds are produced for different production phases: nursery (2-3 percent), starter (20-30 percent), and grower/finisher (60-70 percent). Extrusion technology is mainly used to produce floating feed for tilapia, accounting for around 40-50 percent of total tilapia feed production and retailing for US$ 90-130/t (CONTINUED ON PAGE 26) TABLE 3. Feed mill type, capacity and number. Type of feed mill Production capacity (t/h) Number Large 20-40 8-10 Medium 10-20 15-20 Small 5-10 70-75 TOP LEFT, FIGURE 4. Producing farm-made aquafeed. LEFT, FIGURE 5. Drying farm-made aquafeed. TOP RIGHT, FIGURE 6. Bagging aquafeed at a commercial mill.
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