The devastating combination of swine diseases and fierce typhoons to the Philippine livestock and feedmilling industries last year has also wrought havoc to the feed supplements sector. 

 

The deadly duo has drastically reduced livestock population which of course translated to lesser feed production and lower demand for feed additives and supplements. "In 2008, there was a 30-40% drop in feed production, although those numbers dropped a bit last year, we still see that they did not go back to the levels that we are all expecting.  So with the feed production dropping, the normal inclusion of feed supplements also goes down," tells Noel Cuyno, general manager of Alltech Philippines.

 

Cuyno tells that man-made or natural calamities have influenced the way feed additives are recently used. Foremost is food safety wherein industries everywhere look closer in producing safe food. "This is something that we have taken for granted before, that everything that goes into the system is assumed safe. But now, all these food scares make you wonder who is looking after the consumers' interest when it comes to food safety," he said. 

 

But more than food safety, Cuyno tells feed supplements will be more critical as the Philippines braces for a ruthless competition from the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) which was implemented Jan 1 this year. AFTA will allow Southeast Asian products to enter the country at 0-5% tariff which will make imports cheaper against local products.

 

 

According to research firm Frost and Sullivan, "the steady rise in the consumption of meat will drive demand for animal feed additives such as amino acids, feed acidifiers and feed enzymes in the Philippines". The firm also says "additives' benefits such as reduction costs of animal feed and lower environmental pollution associated with the livestock industry will drive continued market development." For this reason, feed supplements are set to play a key role in this era of trade liberalisation.

 

Cuyno says that Philippine feedmillers regard vitamins and minerals as standard inclusions on their formulation while the uptake of other feed additives has been on the rise as it has been proven to enhance animal performance. He added that demand on enzymes has also been increasing lately due to its remarkable help in animal digestion.

 

The use of herbs and plants as feed additives has become of a fad of sorts for feed manufacturers several years ago. Dubbed as "natural", these plant-based feed additives were believed to be safer and more effective in enhancing animal health. However, a German rough draft study shows that utilisation of "these plants as feed additives should not just depend on its nutritional content but also the presence and level of various toxic principles and methods of detoxification especially during feed formulation." Further, the study revealed that the plants require environmental and soil conditions as well as energy subsidies and with some prohibitions, these could not be expected to contribute greatly towards satisfying demands as a feed supplement.

 

Although Cuyno is not against plant-based feed supplements, he believes that an in-depth study for these is still needed. "They are good because they are in line in producing organic meat but I think the real challenge is how you can standardise the production of herbs and also make sure that performance is consistent. You see a lot of herbal concoctions in the market, but I think their quality and consistent results are what should be looked into," he says.

 

Nevertheless, Filipinos have always resorted to plants for their animal nutrient needs.  For instance, swine growers are using oregano as a feed-based antibiotic and at the same time to enhance pig performance. The farmers' faith on oregano has even been underscored by a recent study that shows pigs fed with 5% oregano from weaning through slaughter, weighing 6-9 kilogrammes, showed a higher daily weight gain by 6.5-10.5% and improved feed efficiency by 12-17%. It also affirms major oregano oil's components - carvacrol and thymol - if combined, are shown to have the strongest microbial activity. Chicken farmers on the other hand are relying on other medicinal plants like malunggay (horseradish), ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) as well as leaves of papaya, banana, coconut either as a fodder or as a feed additive in absence of synthetic supplements.

 

Despite a vibrant livestock industry, the Philippines still doesn't produce its own feed supplements and relies on imports albeit some attempts by some manufacturers to do so. Cuyno says locally producing feed additives will entail a lot of research, government support and financial aid, which in perspective, are difficult to attain considering the country's economic situation. "I think there are a number of people or companies that are doing that but most of the active ingredients, I think, that is a concern unless you manufacture your own active ingredient. And unless you own a patent for a certain molecule, then you can come up with a competitively-priced additive," he says.

 

Mycotoxins, climate change and alternative feed grains 

 

Due to abnormal weather conditions, mycotoxins are now causing a great deal of worry which affects not only local corn but also imported feed grains. "Last year even in the US, they were not spared because of abnormal weather disturbance and there were several varieties of mycotoxins found on their October corn harvest. And from what I understand, possibly  some of that corn might find its way to our shores and we should be cautious because the levels are quite disturbing and will have a huge impact on animal health," quips Cuyno. Cuyno fears that the magnitude of mycotoxin contamination will be stronger and hence the need for stronger toxin binders that will protect the corn or grains from contaminants.

 

Cassava and DDGS have been tapped as alternative feed grains but Cuyno says formulation for these grains as feed additives is different from that of corn. For DDGS, Cuyno explains that "there's a lot of concern about the quality of DDGS because there's a big level of contamination and the way it is processed, there's a tendency for compounds like mycotoxins being highly-concentrated in the final product of DDGS. Hence there's a need for incorporation of toxin binders". On the other hand, there has been a massive push to include cassava in feed formulation since the crop is a good source of energy and Cuyno said nutritionists suggest using more enzymes to easily digest the crop as a way of increasing its inclusion for feed.

 

This year, Cuyno believes that there will be a surge of demand for feed additives due to AFTA. "There should be greater uptake of feed additives especially now that the push really is performance or efficiencies.  A lot of people view additives as extra costs but actually there are a lot of compounds that can give you a performance at a lower cost and if that happens, your efficiencies will definitely improve because the name of the game this year and the years to come is improving your efficiencies. Feed supplement really will become an integral part of feed formulation.''