ORNAMENTAL FISH FEED MARKET ANALYSIS

Ornamental fish are usually colorful fish, which are kept in confined space of an aquarium as pets. Invertebrates and mollusks are some of the ornamental fish species. Ornamental fish feed is an animal or a plant material intended for consumption of ornamental fish. This feed has specific ingredients such as vegetable proteins, fishmeal and wheat as a binding agent. Increasing number of consumers are inclined towards keeping fishes as pets and this factor has to led to growth in ornamental fish production, in turn positively impacting growth of ornamental fish feed market. According to Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock, in Turkey, the ornamental fish production was 474.48 tons in 2015 and increased to 625.13 tons in 2016. In addition to this, growing presence of pet stores and online stores are also acting as a major growth factor in the market. For instance, in India, several online pet stores such as Dogspot.com and Petsworld.in houses different brands of fish feed such as Sera, Drools and Tetra among others.

Various governments are focusing on various initiatives to promote ornamental fisheries sector, which is expected to in turn fuel the market growth. For instance, in India, The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries, launched a pilot scheme Ornamental Fisheries Project, in March 2017, for ornamental fisheries development with a total investment of US$ 11.46 million. This is expected to create a conducive environment for growth of the market. Furthermore, increasing availability of different types of fish food based on their species type is further encouraging customers to adopt different types of ornamental fishes. All these factors are further supporting the market growth of ornamental fish feed.

Ornamental Fish Feed-Market Taxonomy

On the basis of ingredient type, the global ornamental fish feed market is segmented into:

• Meat Ingredient
  • Fish Meal
  • Shrimp Meal
  • Squid
  • Others
• Plant Ingredient
  • Spirulina
  • Alfalfa
  • Algae
  • Vegetable Extracts
  • Others
• Others

On the basis of product type, the global ornamental fish feed market is segmented into:

• Live Food
  • Earthworm
  • White worm
  • Microworms
  • Others
• Processed Food
  • Flakes
  • Crisps
  • Granules
  • Pellets
  • Others
• Frozen Dried Food

Among the product type, processed food flakes accounted for the largest share in the market in terms of revenue. The advantage of flakes includes its soft texture, which is easier for small fishes to consume. Its slow sinking property is another factor for extensive use in the ornamental fish feed industry.

Ornamental Fish Feed - Market Outlook

• Europe accounted for the largest ornamental fish feed market followed by North America in 2016. This is attributed to growing interest of consumers in aquarium fishes in the region. According to Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA), the indoor and outdoor pet fish population was 16 million and 20 million, respectively in 2016 contributing 14% of pet population in the U.K. The U.S. is the single largest importer for ornamental fish in North America, however, Europe is considered as three times bigger than U.S, according to the U.S. Ornamental Fish Association.
• Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit significant growth in the global ornamental fish feed market over the forecast period. This is due to growth of ornamental fish trading in this region. For instance, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, the total value of the aquarium fish trade increases US$ 1 billion per year; and over 50% of the global ornamental fish supply was provided by Asia Pacific region in 2014. In India, most of the cultured and marketed ornamental fish are exotic species. However, stringent regulations on selling ornamental fishes is negatively impacting the market growth. For instance, in June 2017, the Ministry of Forest and Environment, Government of India, banned the sale and display of 158 species of ornamental fish, to protect the animals from cruelty.
• Key players in the market are focusing on inorganic growth strategies such as merger and acquisitions to sustain their market positions. For instance, in 2016, Alltech Inc.— one of the leading players in natural animal nutrition and health products — acquired Coppens International, to enhance the company’s product range by integrating Alltech Inc., protein and microalgae platforms.
• Some of the major market players operating in the global ornamental fish feed market include Alltech Inc., Ocean Star International, Inc., Cargill Incorporated., Hai Feng Feeds Co., Ltd., Taiyo Group, Sera GmbH, AlgaSpring B.V., PT Central Proteina Prima Tbk, and Tianjin Dongjiang food co., LTD.

Ornamental Fish Feed Market Key Developments:

• In January 2018, Cargill, Incorporated opened its fish feed plant in India. This is the first feed mill dedicated to fish species in India. This new plant has a production capacity of 90,000 tons of fish feed per year which in turn is expected to triple Cargill’s fish feed capacity in India.
• In July 2019, sera GmbH introduced its tablet food and rearing food for ornamental fishes which contains all natural ingredients. This product range includes Plankton Tabs Nature, Spirulina Tabs Nature, O-Nip Nature, Viformo Nature and Micron Nature. These products contain pirulina, krill, gammarus etc. whereas these products are free from any dyes or preservatives.
• In September 2019, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), the research wing of the Marine Products Export Development Agency (MPEDA), India announced that they have developed a live feed for shrimp and ornamental fishes. RGCA has developed the feed containing ‘Artemia’ under the brand name of ‘Pearl’. Development of this feed in India is in turn expected to reduce India’s dependence on importing the live fish feed from the U.S and China.