We all need to eat. If we didn't, nobody would be reading this magazine, and we would probably all be out of jobs!
Simply put, food or feed is energy. Measuring energy consumption can be an indicator of economic health. An area with no economic activity will register zero energy consumption, while a stagnant economy will show static energy consumption and a growing economy will register growing demand for energy.
Growing optimism?
So it is a good thing for those of us working in the food and feed industries that the results of our latest Nutrition and Feed Survey show that there is increased optimism in the industry – the number of respondents predicting deteriorating profits over the next 12 months declined to just over a quarter. Let's hope that this is a continuing trend.
Of course, this is a simplistic view. Over time, most sectors have learned to use energy more efficiently and feed and poultry production is no exception. Use of enzymes continues to increase to make the most of feed, and a significant proportion of our survey's respondents reported that their use will increase.
As in the energy sector and in the human food industry, there is a push toward "clean." Looking at what respondents say about labeling claims shows a shift in production to a "cleaner" way of producing energy for animals, and there is also strong interest in "alternatives."
China
This issue offers another look at what is happening in China. China's poultry companies are having a hard time. With pork cheap, prices for poultry are low; with contamination scandals, consumers are wary; and with avian influenza, consumers' access to poultry is being restricted with the closure of live markets.
We look at how these factors are impacting individual companies and at some of the measures that are being introduced to confront the problems, but what the impact on feed manufacturers and suppliers will be is yet to finally feed through.
According to the Beijing Times, recent bird flu outbreaks have cost the Chinese industry US$6.5 billion, and the sector is losing US$151 million per day. Of course, the impact of this sort of collapse goes far beyond the producers and consumers. Suppliers, particularly feed producers, will be affected. Additionally, there will jobs lost both direct and indirect, all of which will have an impact on the wider economy.
And as further evidence of how inputs in one area can affect outcomes in another, we report on a conference on antibiotic resistance, which took place in Bangkok earlier this year. If ever there was a clear example of how countries, industries and disciplines in the modern world are connected, this was it.
