Brazil's aquaculture feed output reaches 940,000 tonnes in first half, up 5.4% year-on-year

A comprehensive industry report released by the Brazilian National Union of Animal Feed Industries (Sindirações) shows that in the first half of 2026, Brazil's compound aquaculture feed output reached approximately 940,000 tonnes, up 5.4% from the same period last year.

With this growth rate, aquaculture ranks among the fastest-growing segments of Brazil's feed manufacturing industry, matching the expansion rate of pig farming and exceeding the overall average growth of 4.2% for the Brazilian feed industry. In the first half of the year, Brazil's animal nutrition sector produced a total of 45.2 million tonnes of feed of all types for production livestock and companion animals.

The data published by Sindirações confirms that demand for industrial feed from aquatic animal farming has increased, but the data is not broken down by species category, farming model or geographic region, so it is not possible to accurately determine which production segments drove growth in this segment.

The industry association also noted in its summary that imported products remain a concern for domestic farmers. Due to the lack of supplementary statistics on import volumes, price levels and countries of origin, it is not yet possible to accurately assess the substantive impact of such external competition on farm profitability or feed processing plants.

Industry experts emphasize that compound feed accounts for a core share of the cost structure of farming operations, but an increase in feed consumption does not directly equate to a proportional increase in the final harvested biomass of fish or other farmed organisms. A comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits of aquaculture activities also requires consideration of multiple indicators such as feed ingredient prices, feed conversion ratio (FCR), stock survival rates and final market selling prices.