Roughage is still the main source of feed protein in the European Union, according to the European Commission’s latest forecasts.
Roughage represents above 42% of total EU feed use and the commission has highlighted that the EU “remains fully sufficient in roughage”.
Latest data suggests feed demand across Europe will remain stable at 72 million tonnes in crude protein.
The commission is confident, that despite lower than predicted production of maize due to the hot summer and subsequent drought in many countries, the EU’s self-sufficiency for all sources of protein is estimated to be in the region of 77%.
“The share of all oilseed meals represents 27% of total feed protein use in the EU and the share of cereals represents 21%. However, for oilseed meals, the EU only produces 24% of what it needs to feed its livestock sector,” the balance sheet report outlines.
The commission said the move to reduce EU dependency on imported protein has been a key objective for a number of years but the war in Ukraine and record-high feed costs have now pushed this to the top of the agenda.
It has detailed how the development of “plant protein production” in the EU could not only deliver economic benefits for farmers and food and animal feed producers, but it also “carries a range of economic benefits”.
“In particular, protein crops contribute to fixing the atmosphere’s nitrogen in the soil and therefore plays an important role in a more sustainable nutrient cycle.
“The development of EU plant-protein production and consumption will be among the objectives of the commission in the coming months,” it is stated in the report.
The latest balance sheet also highlights the feed supply and demand of various protein sources.
This includes crops (cereals, oilseeds and pulses); co-products (meals from crushing soya, rapeseed and sunflower as well as protein-rich materials that result from processed arable crops); non-plant-based sources (animal proteins, former foodstuffs); and roughage (grass, silage maize, fodder leguminous).