FBA Issue 31: March / April 2010
Sourcing Southeast Asia's feed
Do you think that cassava can ever be adapted enough to overcome its disadvantages as an alternative feed?
Yes, the dust in feed mills can be recovered with oil as well as with cyclone and suction systems. The problem is that we don't have enough cassava in Indonesia. Only 1 million tonnes is produced. One critical situation is if the data for cassava is correct, then there's probably less cassava than is stated. Many people in Sumatra, Central and East Java used to plant cassava but are now planting corn.
At the end of the day, the farmer must decide whether he wants cassava, corn or sugar cane. Cassava's return is lower but requires less irrigation. Corn needs irrigation and water but has a higher return. In areas where corn or sugar cane cannot be grown, they require 6 to 8 months to harvest compared to corn, which only needs 120 days.
Will the growing disparity between fishmeal supply and demand force up soymeal and other plant-based protein meals upwards?
I don't think there's a substitution between soy and fishmeal in poultry and swine because we can feed them without fishmeal. At one time, we used to think fishmeal is a must. Now fishmeal is mainly used in aquafeed because they demand high protein. In fact, in some species such as catfish or tilapia, where the protein content is low, we don't need fishmeal anymore. Eventually, we could use a vegetarian diet for many freshwater fish.
Do you believe that Indonesia can achieve self-sufficiency in corn?
That depends on the government, if it wants to have self sufficiency in corn. However in order increase corn harvests, you have to go to an extensive or intensive system and to expand the land under cultivation. If you increase from local to hybrid corn, you can increase productivity. While it is possible to achieve, if other industries or policymakers don't change their programs, Indonesia will not be self-sufficient.
Do you believe other ASEAN countries can achieve self-sufficiency in corn?
Thailand has been self-sufficient in corn and exporting it to Malaysia an Indonesia. It wll continue to be self-sufficient. But the scope for a dramatic increase is limited because of limited land space so they will have to increase their crop yields.
For corn hybrids, the potential yield can be up to 7 tonnes an acre. So if Cambodia's yield is currently 3 or 4 tonnes per hectare, they can maintain future output growth with more inputs but at the same time, its domestic demand is starting to take off.
For Vietnam, it mainly plants corn in the central mountainous area, it would be more profitable to plant rice there and corn in the lowlands. The country's land availability is already maximized so I don't think Vietnam will be self-sufficient in corn. But some Vietnamese feed mills are putting money in Laos and importing corn from there.
How do you think Southeast Asia's biofuel production will impact feed supplies? Can sugar be used as a substitute for corn?
If you look at the region's ethanol industry, I do not think it will pick up too easily. In Malaysia and Indonesia, sugar's price is very high and petrol's price is very low so there is no incentive to convert sugar to ethanol. With regards to using sugar for ethanol, Thailand may find it economical to plant sugar but not Malaysia or Indonesia.
From a feed mill's perspective, what are the most important issues when using alternative feeds?
The first major challenge is variable productivity and quality. Secondly, in some areas, seasonality is a factor, as in some regions, cassava is harvested in October and November but is difficult to find in March. Similarly, for rice bran, the price goes down and up depending on the season. This creates large fluctuations in the final price of alternative feed ingredients. In addition, compared to corn, many alternative ingredients are low in energy but higher in fibre content.
How can the nutritional deficiencies of alternative feeds be addressed?
It is better now because by understanding how much of each amino acid is digested by chickens or pigs, we can balance it by putting in lysine or methionine into their formulation. By understanding what the nutritional qualities of the alternative feeds are, we can also compensate by using other ingredients rich in the nutrients that they are lacking. In the Philippines for example, copra's nutritional deficits are compensated with coconut oil.
What are the greatest challenges of using DDGS in feed?
It is interesting because 4 to 5 years ago, buyers were complaining about the quality but in the last 2 years, it has been improving. Five years ago the plants did not worry about quality but this has now changed.
The US suppliers started to understand what the market demand is and adjusted DDGS's quality. In the ethanol plants that are less than 10 years old, they are now producing DDGS of consistent quality and bright yellow colour. In all, out of 170 US ethanol plants, 150 are modernized and produce high quality DDGS.
On the other side, customers have been educated in how the DDGS is made and how it can be used most effectively. As a result, both customer education and DDGS supplier quality have been improved.
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