Animal nutrition technology company AB Vista will close out 2016 with strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region and growth in several of its sectors, including swine, poultry, aqua and ruminant.
The company saw sales in the Asia-Pacific region grow 30 percent higher than in the previous financial year. It said its market share growth was largely driven by strong sales of its enzyme products.
“Throughout the past year, we have significantly expanded our ruminant products and services portfolio, with new partnerships and team members in strategic markets, putting in place a structure to grow in this market,” AB Vista Managing Director Richard Cooper said in a press release.
Cooper told WATTAgNet in an email that “the size of the global ruminant market makes it a very attractive market in which to play” and that the company’s “new appointments will help build on the strong foundation in the U.K. and Ireland, and advance AB Vista’s growing global ruminant market share.”
“The ruminants market is very different to the monogastric industry, and as a business we are taking the appropriate steps to build on our existing expertise and bolster our growing portfolio,” Cooper said.
Tackling the challenges of phytate
One of the industry challenges on which AB Vista focuses is phytate destruction.
“The costs associated with the anti-nutritional influence of phytate on growth performance, nutrient and energy utilization and feed efficiency may be as much as $2 billion per year in lost performance,” Cooper said. “Feed efficiency, animal welfare, sustainability and ultimately profitability are all negatively affected by phytate and its lower esters.”
AB Vista works with research partners to better understand phytate, and it organizes the International Phytate Summit, where experts can collaborate on the understanding of phytate and identify practical strategies to limit its anti-nutritive effect in animal feed.
“As we have learned more about phytate and its interactions in the animal, we have become more aware of the scope of its anti-nutritional influence,” Cooper said.
“We introduced the superdosing concept to the industry four years ago, dosing two to three times the standard dose of phytase to destroy phytate in the diet,” Cooper said. “The benefits of phytate destruction through superdosing go beyond calcium and phosphorous release to amino acid release and trace mineral release.”
The company will continue its work on phytate destruction in 2017.
