One of China’s largest agricultural conglomerates has registered a significant increase in aquafeed sales in 2018, which it credits to continued growth in crayfish cultivation.
The New Hope Liuhe Group saw sales to aquaculture rise 23 percent in 2018 to 1.06 million metric tons (MT), which the company credited strong demand from crayfish breeders for feed. Growth in the company’s aquafeed segment was well ahead of the 8 percent growth in pig feed sales, which rose to 4.4 million tons, and poultry feed sales, which rose 10 percent to 10.89 million tons, according to a company statement.
The company’s total revenue saw a huge jump from CNY 3.85 billion (USD 573.8 million, EUR 511 million) to CNY 39.4 billion (USD 5.9 billion, EUR 5.3 billion). Even though its gross margins, at 13.6 percent, were healthy, the company’s overall net profit attributable to shareholders fell 25.3 percent to CNY 1.75 billion (USD 260.8 million, EUR 232.3 million). Aquafeed sales are becoming more important to New Hope Liuhe, especially as the company recently set itself a growth target of 10 percent in revenues per year over the next five years.
Aquafeed, along with the ruminant category (encompassing beef and dairy) are taking on much larger roles in the Chinese economy overall, as the two categories were the fastest-growing segments in China’s feed sector in 2018. Aquafeed sales rose 6.3 percent to 22.1 million MT in 2018, while ruminants, at 10.4 MT, rose 8.9 percent year-on-year. The biggest segment, pig feed, declined 0.9 percent to 97.2 million MT. Broilers and egg production rose 8.2 percent and 1.8 percent, to 65.09 million and 29.8 million MT, respectively.
Photo courtesy of New Hope Liuhe Group
