International Feed Industry Federation concerned by rising feed costs

The International Feed Industry Federation has voiced an urgent concern that the rise in feed and food costs will continue unabated for the foreseeable future in large part due to the diversion of feed and food grains and oilseeds into biofuels, resulting in critical pressure on feed manufacturers worldwide and higher prices for consumers.
“The dramatic drought in the U.S. has highlighted once again the rising prices of feed and food and it is clear that the production of biofuels is in direct competition with food supplies by using land and water that would otherwise be used to grow crops for human or animal consumption,” said Alexandra de Athayde, federation executive director. “If no virgin food or feed crops were used to produce fuel, we believe prices would come down again. Current policies aimed at subsidizing the production of grains and oilseeds based biofuels harm the consumer and threaten the sustainability of the feed and food chain globally.
“The global challenge we face is to feed 9 billion people by 2050 and to do so sustainably," said de Athayde. "IFIF calls upon governments to reconsider subsidizing grains-based biofuels in order to ensure we can use all of our feed and food production for human and animal consumption so that we meet current and future demands of 60 percent more food by 2050.” 

Feed federation calls for sustainability, affordability for growing population

International Feed Industry Federation Executive Director Alexandra de Athayde.

Representatives of the global grain trade have heard a call from the International Feed Industry Federation for closer cooperation between the various parts of the agricultural chain on how to meet the projected increase in world demand for animal protein over the coming decades.
Federation executive director Alexandra de Athayde told the 2012 annual conference of the International Grains Council that the central challenge will be to achieve sustainable and affordable supplies of feed and food for a world population that the United Nations projects will reach 9 billion by 2050. Estimates of the future demand vary widely, she added. From projections by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, world animal protein requirements in 2050 will be about 899 million metric tons per year or almost triple the 309.5 million metric tons consumed in 2010. But if the average annual growth rate in consumption to 2050 matched that of the past 30 years, the amount needed would be much higher — six times the 2010 level.
The feed and grain sectors should be working together better on defining the true scale of future needs, said De Athayde. Their interests are already closely interlinked, given that one-third of all cereals used worldwide go into the manufacturing of animal feeds. There are vital questions that everyone should address, not the least of which is whether there will be enough grain supplies to support considerably larger livestock production in 2050 and where those grains could be produced. 

Global Feed & Food Congress sets 2013 date

Dates have been set for the next Global Feed & Food Congress.
The next Congress was already announced for South Africa, but the dates for it have now been decided as April 8 through 12, 2013. It will take place alongside the AFMA Forum of the South African association of feed manufacturers at the same venue.
Previous congresses staged under the banner of the International Feed Industry Federation have been held in Brazil and Mexico.

Global Feed & Food Congress proceeds despite Icelandic volcano

With standing room only at its opening session inside a packed auditorium in Cancun, Mexico, the 2010 Global Feed & Food Congress was off to a strong start. By the end of the three-day event, its organizers were expressing their delight at how well it had been attended – despite the air travel interruptions due to a cloud of volcanic ash over the Atlantic and Europe.
“We have had a total of over 350 delegates at this meeting, representing 27 countries,” reported Roger Gilbert, secretary general of the International Feed Industry Federation, which arranged the congress with the Mexican feed association and technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “That was out of the 400 people who were anticipated from pre-registrations. It has been a tremendous effort by everyone to be here, given the travel problems affecting the Europeans and those whose intended air journeys transited Europe."
He added that 40 of the 58 scheduled speakers reached the congress, and only six presentations were dropped as a result. “The others were either presented by an associate of the speaker or they were given digitally,” Gilbert said. He explained that, once flight cancellations were confirmed, the missing speakers were invited to provide digital recordings of their presentations. The papers presented remotely were well received by delegates.
“It has to be the first time that the feed industry has used digital technology to overcome a critical conference issue,” Gilbert said, “and it went off without a hitch.”
The next IFIF Global Feed & Food Congress will take place in South Africa in April 2013.

Japan joins world feed union

Japan’s national feed association has become the latest member of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF). Its decision to join was confirmed at the 2010 Global Feed & Food Congress held by IFIF in Cancun, Mexico.
The Japanese association represents manufacturers in an industry producing about 25 million metric tons of feeds annually. It has also opened discussions with the international federation on creating a new North Asia Feed Association along the lines followed successfully by Fefac in Europe and Feed Latina in Latin America. The hope is to have the North Asian organization in place by the end of 2010.

International feed manual to be released

The International Feed Industry Federation and the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations will release a new international feed manual at the Third Global Feed and Food Congress in Cancun, Mexico, April 20-23, 2010.

Latin feed leaders to meet in Cancun

About 100 representatives from feed industries, government agencies and associations from Latin America and the Caribbean are due to meet in Mexico in April for the regions first meeting on regulatory issues in animal feeds.
Under its formal title of the 1st Latin American/Caribbean Feed Regulators’ Meeting, it is set for April 20 in Cancun, Mexico, and coincides with the opening of the III Global Feed and Food Congress, that runs April 20-23.
Participants at the regulators meeting are being invited by the FAO and Feed Latina, the new regional federation that represents about 120 million tons of animal feed production in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
“There are a number of important regulatory themes to be discussed involving the whole Latin American and Caribbean region as an economic bloc,” says Flavia Ferreria de Castro of Feed Latina.
“These include registration of feed additives, labeling and inspection, also resideues and contaminants, biotechnology and Good Manufacturing Practices, both for commercial feed manufacturers and on-farm mixers. We want to encourage Latin American and Caribbean representatives, working with Feed Latina and FAO, for the unification and harmonization of rules in the countries in the region to guarantee competitiveness, quality and food safety,” she said.

International feed regulators met with industry representatives

The International Feed Industry Federation and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently hosted the third annual meeting of the international feed regulators and industry members.
Seventy-five delegates from 21 countries attended the two-day meeting, held in Atlanta, Ga., in conjunction with the 2010 International Feed and Poultry Expo. They discussed feed legislation and its impact on the trade in feed and feed ingredients, with special attention given to border inspection practices, control of undesirable substances and authorization systems for feedstuffs and ingredients.
“Presentations provided by both regulators and feed industry representatives provided background and examples of current practices, and challenged participants to consider ways to improve regulatory and risk-management systems,” said Dr. Dave Cieslak, chairman of the International Feed Industry Federation. He noted that the meeting included the participation of the Codex Alimentarius secretariat.
IFIF will hold another meeting between regulators and industry members at the Global Feed & Food Congress in Cancun, Mexico, April 20-23, 2010.