POULTRY NUTRITION AND PRODUCTION IN THAILAND

Transcription

1 POULTRY NUTRITION AND PRODUCTION IN THAILAND Manop Potchanakorn Charoen Pokphand Group Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand Thailand ranks fourth in terms of tonnage of broiler meat export globally. Even though the tonnage does not approach those of Brazil or the United States, Thailand is a relatively small country with land size smaller than the state of Texas (513,210 km 2 vs 695,621 km 2 ) and much smaller than Brazil (8,515,767 km 2 ) and a population of 67 million people. The broiler meat export tonnage more than tripled over the last twenty years. PRODUCTION Data from Thai Feed Mill Association ( showed an increase in broiler production in Thailand from 404 million birds per year in 1988 to 1,365 million birds per year in 2014 (Table 1). Year Broiler Layer Duck Swine Dairy

2 , , , , Table 1. Estimated population of farm animals in Thailand by year (million animals). Each animal group includes breeding and replacement animals. Data from Thai Feed Mill Association. Graphical representation shows the increasing trend over the past 26 years Broiler Layer Duck Swine Dairy Figure 1. Estimated population of farm animals in Thailand by year (thousand animals). Data from Thai Feed Mill Association. The decrease seen in was due to avian influenza outbreak in the country. Estimated animal feeds produced during this period are presented in Table 2. Year Broiler Layer Duck Swine Dairy , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 1996 3, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Table 2. Estimated animal feed produced in Thailand by year (thousand metric tons). Each animal group includes breeding and replacement animals. Data from Thai Feed Mill Association. From 1988 to 2014, animal feed production in Thailand grew for all groups of animals except for ducks. Data from Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association from the same period showed an increase in broiler meat export from 95,784 metric tons per year in 1988 to 579,466 metric tons per year in Year Raw and frozen Cooked Total , , , , , , ,176 3, , ,829 6, , ,080 9, , ,903 15, , ,935 26, , ,215 31, , ,799 41, , ,479 62, , ,675 61, , ,994 86, ,794 3

4 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,466 Table 3. Broiler meat export by year (metric tons). Data from Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association. The broiler meat export increased five-fold over the last 26 years with cooked products making its first appearance in 1991 and last year was 73 of the tonnage exported. The shift from raw to cooked products fortunately took place a few years before the avian influenza outbreak. Currently the two main markets for Thai broiler meat export are Japan and the European Union member states. Thai broiler industry had to adjust to the requirements of overseas customers in order to maintain the export growth over the years. Thailand has the advantage of having low wages with current minimum wage at 300 baht per day ($8.57 using the exchange rate at the end of July 2015). The lower wages result in competitive cost for cooked products while raw products do not enjoy such advantage due to higher ingredient cost than in Brazil and the United States. Different animal welfare standards have to be combined to satisfy different customer groups. Environmentally controlled broiler houses started to appear in the early 1990 s and are now the norm in the industry nationwide. Antibiotic growth promoters were taken out of broiler feeds by some producers earlier than required in the European Union member states due to requirements of specific customers. Market weight for local consumption is still below 2 kg. Market weight for export market is around 2.5 kg. Broilers grown are mainly white feather breeds supplied by Aviagen, Cobb-Vantress and Hubbard. An insignificant percentage of chicken meat was produced using local breeds or colored feather breeds. Thai consumers still prefer brown-shell eggs over white-shell eggs. Yolk color is still perceived as a quality issue with expected yolk color of more than 11 on a DSM Color Fan. Most of the eggs produced are for local consumption with small quantity being 4

5 exported to neighboring countries. Breeding stocks come from European and US companies. Meat ducks population has not grown over the same period that saw significant growth in both broiler and layer population. The market is mainly made up of White Pekin ducks from Cherry Valley Farms of the United Kingdom. Market weight is around kg. Meat ducks are produced for local consumption and for export. Duck eggs are mainly produced for salted egg market. In the past, duck eggs were more commonly used as table eggs but the current production cost of duck eggs makes it uneconomical for consumers. Total market for duck eggs has held steady except during avian influenza outbreak. Climate in Thailand is tropical in nature, that is, hot and humid, with day-time temperature averaging near 32 C and night-time temperature around 24 C. Cold season can see night-time temperature dip below 10 C in the mountains. A hot day can see day-time temperature of near 40 C with night-time temperature near 28 C. Evaporatively cooled broiler houses solve much of this problem but humidity remains an issue much of the year especially during the hot rainy seasons. Regulatory agencies require that all poultry houses must have concrete floors. Houses must be cleaned and disinfected between flocks and new bedding materials must be brought in for every new flock. There are still small producers who operate outside of this standard but their animals are only for local wet markets. NUTRITION Government regulation plays a role in diet formulation. Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives issued regulations regarding animal feed standards (Department of Livestock Development, 2010). Animal/age Crude protein minimum Crude fat minimum Crude fiber maximum Moisture maximum Broiler <3 wk Broiler 3-6 wk Broiler >6wk Layer pullet <5 wk Layer pullet 5-12 wk Layer pullet 12 wk-lay Layer wk Layer wk Layer >60 wk

6 Meat duck <3 wk Meat duck 3-5 wk Meat duck >5 wk Table 5. Examples of animal feed standards (Department of Livestock Development, 2010). However, feed producers can register feeds having different nutritional values from the regulations if producers can provide scientific study report to support the different numbers. All antibiotic growth promoters, coccidiostats, and any other medication must be withdrawn from all feeds at least seven days prior to slaughter. This withdrawal requirements mandate the last phase of feeds for all species to be fed for seven days, thus, making for a unique set of phases for broiler feeds for Thailand. Focus on nutrition will be on broiler diets. With poultry breeds being sourced from the West, broiler feeds in Thailand follow much of the recommendations of the genetic companies. Corn and soybean meal make up the bulk of poultry feeds. Corn used in poultry feed is locally grown and is of the hard starch variety rather than the dent corn used in the United States. Importation of corn to be used in animal feeds is discouraged by the government regulation in order to protect local corn farmers. Feed producers wishing to import corn will have to request a special import quota from the government which can be granted only under extreme situation. Corn imported with a permit will carry a 20 import tariff. Corn imported without quota permit carries a 73 import tariff plus a fee of 180 baht ($5.14) per metric ton. Currently, corn imported from ASEAN member countries carries no import duty but there is no significant quantity available for import since most ASEAN member states also see significant growth in animal feed industry. Cassava has been grown in Thailand for its tubers to be used in tapioca starch production. Quantities of cassava tuber are available for animal feed production and cassava by-products from tapioca starch and, more recently, from ethanol industry are also available for animal feed production. In general, ingredients that provide source of carbohydrate for poultry feeds are grown locally but with the continued growth in animal feed production, demands for carbohydrate ingredients outstripped local supplies. Wheat started to imported to be used in poultry diets in Thailand during the past few years. Import duty for wheat is much lower than that for corn and import quota is not required. Wheat is sourced from Australia, Canada and European nations. The majority of protein ingredients are imported. As mentioned above, soybeans and soybean meal being the main ingredients. Full-fat soybeans is widely used in broiler feeds in Thailand. Soybeans and soybean meal can be imported at 0-2 import duty. Soybeans and soybean meal for Thai animal feeds are mainly imported from Brazil and 6

7 Argentina with some quantity coming from the United States. Some quantity also comes from India when price is attractive. Other protein sources include canola meal and rapeseed meal. Some quantities of sunflower meal and cottonseed meal are also used when available. There is no rendering industry in Thailand so animal by-products are also imported from Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Broiler diets used in the export operation generally do not contain animal by-products. Source of fat is also from within the country. Crude palm oil has become the dominant fat source in animal feeds in Thailand. In the past, other oil refinery by-products such as rice bran acid oil and soybean acid oil played a more important role than today. Environmental concerns with palm plantations must also be considered. Calcium source is from local limestone. All phosphates are imported from different producers and countries. Quality varies with origins. However, there are some local ingredients that require evaluation. Nutrition research has been a necessary activity for poultry feed producers over the years. Differences in ingredients are enough to warrant an investigation and quality control personnel must be aware of the quality issue of the incoming raw materials. Rice is a staple cereal grain for human consumption in Thailand and rice by-products are used widely in animal feed production. Rice bran and rice polishing are two main rice by-products used in feeds. Rice hulls are the main bedding materials for broilers. The nutritional system employed for animal feed production is based on National Research Council publications and recommendations from the genetic companies. Information on nutritional values of some ingredients is not applicable to ingredients of the same name in Thailand. One example is rice bran. Dry matter ME n kcal/kg Crude protein Ether extract Crude fiber NRC (1977) 91 1, NRC (1984) 91 2, NRC (1994) 91 2, Batal and Dale 91 2, (2014) Waller (2014) Typical analysis Table 4. Comparison of nutritional composition of rice bran from various reference materials with typical rice bran in Thailand. As can be seen in Table 4, nutritional composition of rice bran in Thailand does not fit the typical rice bran in US literature. Nutritional composition of rice bran in NRC 7

8 remained the same over three editions except for metabolizable energy which doubled over a seventeen-year period. Batal and Dale (2014) listed metabolizable energy of rice bran close to NRC (1984) but had a much lower ether extract content than all the other references. Waller (2014) listed materials used in ruminant rations and the crude fiber number is still similar to all the other references. Typical rice bran in Thailand has lower crude fiber and higher ether extract contents than the other samples. Solvent-extracted rice bran is another ingredient from rice processing. Phosphate is another ingredient of concern. NRC listed non-phytate phosphorus requirements for poultry while most other recommendations listed available phosphorus requirements. Phosphates from different sources are not equal in terms of phosphorus availability especially for young animals. Phosphates with very low phosphorus availability were detected in the past but are less common today. The rapid growth rate of today s broilers combined with signs of skeletal disorders and animal welfare concerns underscore the importance of the phosphates in poultry diets of today. Determination of phosphorus bioavailability of feed phosphates is part of the ongoing research. As in other countries, there are two distinguished set of producers. The first one is the integrated operators where gain (meat) cost is the main concern. The other is the independent producers whose main concern is growth performance but number of independent growers is shrinking. Another issue is the requirements from overseas customers which place restrictions on various aspects of poultry production including feed formulation. These requirements do change and adjustments are made as needed. Recommendations from genetic companies in general aim to showcase the genetic potential of their products. Technical data from suppliers of amino acids, and lately enzymes, focus on feed cost savings with no detrimental effects on performance. All the information supplied will be evaluated under local climate condition using local ingredients. Changes in genetic, animal husbandry practice and housing design over time translate to constant re-evaluation of nutrient requirement for optimal growth. Price structure of ingredients also makes for different conclusions as far as optimum price/performance ratio is concerned. Decisions are made only after repeated experiments were conducted and solid conclusions are drawn. And last but not least, Thailand being in the tropics means that there is no winter to break cycles of diseases and disease vectors are present year round. Animal health may play a more important role than nutrition and good animal husbandry practices combined with a strong veterinary team are vital. 8

9 REFERENCES Batal, A., and N. Dale, Ingredient analysis table: 2015 edition. Feedstuffs Reference Issue & Buyers Guide 86 (37): Department of Livestock Development, Animal Feed Registration Handbook. Thai Agricultural Cooperative Press, Nonthaburi, Thailand. National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 7 th rev. ed. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 8 th rev. ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 9 th rev. ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Waller, J.C., Byproducts & unusual feedstuffs. Feedstuffs Reference Issue & Buyers Guide 86 (37):