Sustainable feed critical to meeting global climate targets

September 27, 2023 – Stifel IRIS is pleased to release “Insects as a sustainable feed ingredient for aquaculture: sustainable feed critical to meeting global climate targets”, a comprehensive analysis of the sector and underlying M&A market activities.

As we continue to witness a rise in the world’s population and a shift towards Western-style diets in developing countries, the demand for meat and seafood is projected to surge by a remarkable 70%, reaching 2.0 billion tons by 2050, up from 1.2 billion tons in 2020.

However, the efficient use of our limited land and water resources remains a critical concern. Our latest white paper dives deep into a pioneering solution: the utilization of insects as a sustainable source of feed to bolster traditional meat and seafood production. This paper not only uncovers the opportunities and challenges but also provides invaluable insights from industry leaders, painting a comprehensive picture of this emerging sector.

Insect proteins are poised to revolutionize the way we approach compound feed. They offer similar quality and functionalities as soybean and fish meal but with a significantly reduced ecological footprint. The key lies in their circular potential—the remarkable ability of insects to convert farm and off-farm waste streams into valuable products, potentially addressing the staggering fact that one-third of all food production goes to waste.

Our research has homed in on this aspect and revealed a tremendous gap between current insect meal and oil production (30,000 to 40,000 tons) and the potential demand, especially within the aquaculture industry, where novel ingredients like insects are highly sought after. The combined demand from pet food and aquaculture feed alone could reach 2.0 million tons, with prices exceeding USD 2,000 per ton, presenting an exciting USD 4.0 billion opportunity for the insect industry in aquaculture feed and pet food.

Furthermore, as prices continue to decrease, the insect ingredient industry’s overall potential could skyrocket beyond USD 20 billion, enticing demand from the poultry and pig industries.

If you’re interested in delving deeper into this groundbreaking topic, this white paper provides a wealth of information on how insect-based solutions are poised to shape the future of sustainable food production