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Aquaculture Feed Market Size and Share, by Ingredient Type (Fish Meal, Fish Oil, Soyabean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Byproducts, Algae and Seaweeds); Form (Pellated Feeds, Extruded Feeds, Powder Feeds, Crumble Feeds, Others); Species Type (Fish Feed, Mollusk Feed, Crustacean Feed, Others); Distribution Channel (Offline, Online) - Global Supply & Demand Analysis, Growth Forecasts, and Statistical Report 2026-2029

  • Report ID: 8292
  • Published Date: Dec 09, 2025
  • Report Format: PDF, PPT
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Aquaculture Feed Market Outlook:

Aquaculture Feed Market size was valued at USD 68.22 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 92.33 billion by the end of 2029, rising at a CAGR of 6.71% during the forecast period (2026-2029).  In 2026, the industry size of aquaculture feed is estimated at USD 76.02 billion.

Aquaculture Feed Market Size
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The growing factors, such as seafood consumption, have led to the propulsion of the market. Regions such as Asia Pacific and North America are considered to be the largest consumers of aquaculture products, which increases the demand for aquaculture feed. Consumers are now aware of the large-scale production and health advancements in fish, which have further increased fish consumption. Consumers often have conceptions regarding the health and freshness of aquaculture species that often prohibit them from consuming such products.  Thus, the adoption of high-protein organic feed ensures a safer health for the consumers. Post the Covid-19 pandemic has raised awareness and standards around hygiene have risen, leading to consumers preferring high-quality and safe edibles.

Key Aquaculture Feed Market Insights Summary:

  • Regional Insights:

    • By 2029, Asia Pacific is set to command a 52% share in the aquaculture feed market, propelled by the rapid adoption of sustainable plant-based alternatives.
    • Europe is anticipated to secure a 20% share by 2029, supported by the increasing use of high-quality feeds such as salmon and insect proteins.

  • Segment Insights:

    • The soybean meal segment is projected to account for 45% of the market by 2029 in the aquaculture feed market, bolstered by rising demand for amino acids to enhance fish quality.
    • The pelleted feeds segment is expected to hold a 62% share by 2029, underpinned by improved feed conversion ratios among fish.

  • Key Growth Trends:

    • Rise in global seafood species
    • Increased R&D for market development

  • Major Challenges:

    • Raw material volatility
    • Shortage of labor

  • Key Players: Archer Daniels Midland (U.S.), Avanti Feeds (India), Alltech (U.S.), Kemin Industries (U.S.), Aller Aqua (Denmark), BioMar group (Denmark), Nutreco. (Netherlands).

Global Aquaculture Feed Market Forecast and Regional Outlook:

  • Market Size & Growth Projections:

    • 2025 Market Size: USD 68.22 billion
    • 2026 Market Size: USD 76.02 billion
    • Projected Market Size: USD 92.33 billion by 2029
    • Growth Forecasts: 6.71% CAGR (2026-2029)

  • Key Regional Dynamics:

    • Largest Region: Asia Pacific (52% Share by 2029)
    • Fastest Growing Region: Europe
    • Dominating Countries: USA, China, Japan, Germany, South Korea
    • Emerging Countries: India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil, Norway

    • Last updated on : 9 December, 2025

Growth Drivers

  • Rise in global seafood species: Seafood specialties have increased, which is leading to widespread demand for a variety of fish. The aquacultural species, mainly the fish and octopus, sustain on high-protein feeds that further enhance their size and shape, making them fit for cultivation. The global surge in seafood is directly impacting the growth of the market, as high demand will require a high supply of fish. High-value Sea fish such as salmon and puffers often consume protein-rich feeds such as meat and soybean to obtain essential vitamins and ammonia, enabling them to maintain health and optimum nutritional value.
  • Increased R&D for market development: Regions are adopting sustainable fish farming at a rapid pace, which is boosting the technology to assess the quality and maturity of fish before cultivation. This allows the fish to grow more in size and enhances nutrients such as omega-3 oil and potassium. The government has enhanced R&D for these initiatives and is urging the producers to feed the fish with the best quality feed, which is enhancing the growth of the market. Better volume management and increased stocking are enabling the expansion of the aquatic feed market, as increased stocking means more fish in less space, ultimately saving a huge amount of fresh feed from wastage. A small stocking area ensures optimum utilization of the feed, especially if there are premium quality fish such as salmon or tiger puffer. R&D is further supporting the development of innovative fishing methods that enhance the health of fish, ensuring a strong market dynamic for the aquaculture feed market.
  • Sustainability pressure: Regulators and producers are being urged to ensure that the right quality of fish is being produced through sustainable measures to keep the ecological balance intact. The rising sustainability has also urged producers to feed the fish with high-quality feed, which will enhance their health. Unhealthy fish feeds, such as animal fats which can cause ammonia build-up in their body and cause digestive problems among them. This further infests other fish, leading to poor farming and a delay in fresh fish supply. Producers often overfeed the fish in order to sell them at higher weights, which can be harmful as the processes and extruded protein of fish feed can negatively impact human bodies. Thus, the right amount of feed for fish will help them generate lipid oils that are filled with nutrients.  

Challenges

  • Raw material volatility: Many regions are poor in the production of high-protein fresh fish feed, leading to their dependency on other countries and regions. This creates a challenge for producers as they need to import the materials at a higher cost that comes with volatility in terms of availability. To meet the demand, producers often acquire feeds at much higher cost, leading to increased prices for the end consumers.
  • Shortage of labor: The availability of skilled labor globally has declined because of the enhancement in technology, where fish quality and health can be assessed digitally. As most of the fishing practices have adopted technological advancements, a reduction in workforce was a common aspect focused on by producers to minimize production cost, leading to their dissemination. This has also caused a barrier in healthy fishing to some extent, impacting the growth of the aquaculture feed market.

Aquaculture Feed Market Size and Forecast:

Report Attribute Details

Base Year

2025

Forecast Year

2026-2029

CAGR

6.71%

Base Year Market Size (2025)

USD 68.22 billion

Forecast Year Market Size (2029)

USD 92.33 billion

Regional Scope

  • North America (U.S. and Canada)
  • Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Rest of Asia Pacific)
  • Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, NORDIC, Rest of Europe)
  • Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Rest of Latin America)
  • Middle East and Africa (Israel, GCC, North Africa, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East and Africa)
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Aquaculture Feed Market Segmentation:

Ingredient Type Segment Analysis

The soybean meal segment will garner the largest market share during the forecast period, with a market share of 45% by 2029. Soybeans contain high protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which allow the fish to reduce ammonia build-up in the body and help them to eliminate the toxins, allowing safer consumption among the end consumers. The growing demand for amino acids among fish to enhance their quality has also propelled the growth of the soybean segment, ultimately impacting the growth of the aquaculture feed market. As demand for high-quality protein-rich feed is increasing, producers are inclining towards advanced additives to enhance the fish quality.

Form Segment Analysis

Pelleted feeds show a promising growth during the forecast years, and are projected to hold a market share of 62% fuelled by an enhanced feed conversion ratio among fish. The pelleted segment is being adopted widely because of its performance and efficiency in fish health. Moreover, the form is easy to carry and ship, plus it holds a longer shelf life, making it an effective choice for fish producers. Other segments, such as the extruded feed, are growing at a significant rate as producers are pushed towards sustainability, where they need to look for alternative feed forms, such as plants, to sustain long-term demand. The plant-based feeds are often extruded under high pressure, which makes them uniform in shape, allowing increased consumption by fish.

Species Segment Analysis

The carp fish segment is projected to dominate the market, holding a market share of 22% fuelled by the demand in the Asia Pacific, where certain countries use large ponds to supply a high volume of low protein feed that improves the quality and health of the fish. The salmon feed segment is also poised for significant growth after carp fish, as salmon contain essential oils that allow the fish to have healthier growth. Fatty fish often require salmon as a source of feed, as they contain omega-3 fatty acids, allowing them to obtain the required protein and nutrients. The transition of aquaculture producers towards sustainable, plant-based protein may hinder the market expansion; however, the rising concern with fish health is keeping the meat-based protein fish feed products stagnant.

Distribution Channel Analysis

The offline distribution channel shows great dominance over the online medium as it holds 70% of the market share because of growing concerns about the quality of fish. In online purchases, consumers have minimal control over the quality, leading to their preference for offline purchases. Moreover, fish sold online are often expensive because of the cold storage costs involved. Consumers scope in negotiations when purchasing aquaculture products through local markets and distributors. Retail is one of the largest breakthroughs of offline purchase, where customers can understand the quality of the fish. Thus, offline fish purchase enables the consumer to assess the quality of fish, leading producers to produce more fresh fish by adding high-quality feed, impacting the growth of the aquaculture feed market.

Our in-depth analysis of the global market includes the following segments:

Segment

  •  

Ingredient Type
  • Fish Meal
  • Fish Oil
  • Soyabean Meal
  • Corn Gluten Meal
  • Poultry Biproducts
  • Algae and Seaweed
  • Others

Form
  • Pelleted Feed
  • Extruded Feed
  • Powder feed
  • Crumble feed
  • Others

Species
  • Fish feed
    • Carp feed
    • Salmon Feed
    • Tuna Feed
    • Tilapia Feed
    • Catfish Feed
    • Yellowtail (Hamachi) Feed
    • Sea Bream (Madai) Feed
    • Sea Bream (Madai) Feed
    • Sea Bream (Madai) Feed
    • Eel Feed
    • Turbot Feed
    • Sea Bass Feed
    • Barramundi Feed
    • Trout Feed
    • Ayu Sweetfish Feed
    • Meagre Fish
    • Other Fish Feed
  • Mollusk Feed
  • Crustacean Feed
    • Shrimp Feed
    • Other Crustacean Feed
  • Others

Distribution Channel
  • Offline
    • Direct Sales
    • Retail
  • Online
Vishnu Nair
Vishnu Nair
Head - Global Business Development

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Aquaculture Feed Market - Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific Market Insights

Asia Pacific is the most dominating market that holds the largest market share of 52% in the aquaculture feed market, fuelled by the rapid expansion of sustainable plant-based alternatives to reduce dependency on other regions and the rising demand for rare species. Certain countries in the region are quite rich in aquaculture production and have developed sustainable measures to maintain ecological balance. These countries have employed sustainable fish feeding products, such as plant-based alternatives that can introduce better health among the fish and other species. Omnivorous species can sustain on plant-based as well as meat-based protein feed, propelling the adoption of plant-based feed as it is sustainable for the long term and can curb the costs of seafood to a great extent.

China leads the aquaculture market as the production and demand for high-quality fish are quite high. The consumption of fish is deeply instilled within the culture of Japan, which enhances the demand for aquaculture products, ultimately affecting the growth of the market. Carps are widely available in China, which leads to their adoption in fish feeds.

India is expected to grow by a CAGR of 4.7% through the forecast period, as the demand for fresh fish has increased. India is booming in terms of shrimp production, especially for export quality. The rise in shrimp manufacturing has enabled the fish producers to employ a variety of shrimp feeds, which is raising the market value. Technological advancements in India related to performance-oriented feeds have also been enhanced, which is further fuelling the market growth.

Europe Market Insights

The aquaculture feed market of Europe is expected to hold a market share of 20% by 2029, amplified by the rising adoption of high-quality feeds such as salmon and other high-protein insects. The EU has laid stringent protocols for manufacturers, and consistent monitoring of the aquaculture species is further giving rise to the market expansion. Europe maintains data-driven decisions and reinforces certain practices on aquaculture species to develop better health and quality. Europe is also home to the production of certain rare species that require high-quality plant-based feed, because of their herbivore nature, which is also fuelling the growth of sustainable fish feeds, affecting the growth of the market.

The UK is quite saturated in terms of aquaculture products and farming, which is supporting the growth of the aquaculture feed market. Scotland holds one of the largest marine markets for Atlantic salmon, which is increasing the demand for high-quality aquafeed. Sustainability in the UK is at its peak, especially in animal feeding, where the government is pushing the meat and fish producers to employ feeds that reduce reliance on imported products.

Germany has employed precision feeding, which utilises technology to maintain optimum quantity and quality of feed. The technology makes data-driven decision-making to assess the intake requirements and the feed proportion through which the right quantity of feeds is given to the aquatic species. These technological advancements in Germany have increased the growth of the aquaculture feeds market and opened doors for innovation.

North America Market Insights

North America is projected to hold a market share of 18%, as the demand is driven by sustainable feed formulations such as insect protein and algae-based protein. The region produces ample amounts of Strout, salmon, and catfish, which require high-quality feed that can be obtained through plant-based proteins and meat proteins, enhancing the market of aquaculture feed. North Americans have raised environmental concerns and are reinforcing the implementation of technologies that can cultivate healthy fish. This is further enhancing the scope of the market and ensuring consistent growth.

Canada is rich in salmon and trout fishing, which is accelerating the market growth as salmon and trout fish require high-quality feed such as insects that are rich in protein. Canada has established clear regulations for the aquaculture producers to maintain high-quality fish feeds, keeping in mind the changing health landscape and requirements of consumers, which fuels the adoption of high-quality aquaculture feeds.

U.S. market is expected to grow by a CAGR of 5.9% by 2026-2029, driven by the increased seafood consumption. Consumers furthermore prefer high-quality protein-rich seafood because of rising health concerns, which has amplified the growth of the aquaculture market. The development of land-based fishing has also enhanced the market growth because of the rich feed quality requirements.

Aquaculture Feed Market Share
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Key Aquaculture Feed Market Players:

    Below is the list of some prominent players operating in the global market:

    • Cargill Japan (U.S.)
      • Company Overview
      • Business Strategy
      • Key Product Offerings
      • Financial Performance
      • Key Performance Indicators
      • Risk Analysis
      • Recent Development
      • Regional Presence
      • SWOT Analysis
    • Archer Daniels Midland (U.S.)
    • Avanti Feeds (India)
    • Alltech (U.S.)
    • Kemin Industries (U.S.)
    • Aller Aqua (Denmark)
    • BioMar group (Denmark)
    • Nutreco. (Netherlands)
       

    The players operating in the global market are expected to face intense competition during the forecast timeline. The market is associated with both established key players and new entrants. However, the market is moderately fragmented. New entrants impose immense competition for the existing players, prohibiting them from acquiring the majority of the revenue share. Specialised manufacturers maintain a competitive landscape in the market. Key players in the market are significantly supported by the governments for research and innovation.

    Corporate Landscape of the Global Market Key Players

    • Cargill is a US-based organization that manufactures aquaculture feeds and operates with more than 40 production facilities. The firm further has 3 innovation centres located globally that aim to improve the fish feed formulations to ensure the best nutrition for the aquaculture species.           
    • Aller Aqua has 7 production facilities and operates in more than 70 countries. The firm develops feed for more than 30 marine and freshwater species.
    • Alltech is an animal nutrition and biotechnology expert founded in the year 1980 in the US. The business owns an R&D facility in the Netherlands and produces products in Germany. The firm operates in sustainable animal nutrition and fish feeds, which are derived from products that are highly sustainable in nature.
    • Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and aquafeed business. It has introduced a shrimp feed production facility in Gujarat, where the primary focus is sustainable plant-based feed production.

Recent Developments

  • In November 2020, Nutreco raised investment in Nordic Aqua Partner to build the first-ever RAS facility to culture salmon. This has given the firm a strategic edge in competition, as salmon is largely in demand as a source of feed for fish.
  • In July 2025, Aller Aqua is collaborating with Sterling Halibut to analyze the effectiveness of insect meal, which is aimed at reducing the demand for traditional fish feeds.
  • Report ID: 8292
  • Published Date: Dec 09, 2025
  • Report Format: PDF, PPT
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

In 2025, the industry size of the aquaculture feed market is over USD 68.22 billion

The size of the aquaculture feed market is projected to reach USD 92.33 billion by the end of 2029, expanding at a CAGR of 6.71% through the forecast period, i.e., between 2026-2029.

The major players in the market are Cargill Japan, Archer Daniels Midland, Avanti Feeds, Alltech, Kemin Industries, Aller Aqua, BioMar group, and Nutreco.

The salmon feed segment is anticipated to garner the largest market share by 2029 and display lucrative growth opportunities during 2026-2029.

The market in the Asia Pacific is projected to hold the largest market share by the end of 2029 and provide more business opportunities in the future.

Aquaculture Feed Market Report Scope

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