A study of supply chains has found that the United Stagtes hog-feeding industry is heavily reliant on imports from China.
The study by The Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), in partnership with Decision Innovation Solutions and Lobo Consulting Solutions, said that makes the U.S. hog industry vulnerable t supply chain interruptions.
It reports that the U.S. has limited domestic production of amino acids, accounting for less than 20 per cent of global capacity, and almost no production of vitamins, except for niacin (B3), which makes up just seven per cent of total global output.
As a result, the U.S. feed industry relies heavily on imports, particularly from China, which supplies a significant share of supplemental amino acids and vitamins., the report said.
For example, all of the imported lysine is from China.
Vitamin imports are highly dependent on China especially for thiamine (B1), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), and vitamin E, where Chinese sources account for more than 80 per cent of the total imports.
The report said this heavy dependence on imports from a limited number of sources highlights the vulnerability of U.S. animal feed production to global supply chain disruptions.
If supply chain disruptions occur, diet modifications could compensate for some supplemental nutrients.
For market hogs, reformulating diets to offset restricted supplementation was partially feasible using alternative feed ingredients (e.g., alfalfa meal, soybean meal, DDGS, and fishmeal). However, such adjustments increased feed costs and, in some cases, especially for B vitamins and vitamin D, no practical formulation could meet industry nutrient standards without supplementation of vitamins.
