The availability of animal feed raw materials is under severe pressure. The bottleneck is getting the product from A to B. There are simply not enough drivers to drive bulk trucks, but that's not all. Various animal feed companies are sounding the alarm. "It's code orange."
The supply problems have been going on for a long time, but are becoming more and more common. ABZ Diervoeding, among others, informs its customers this week that physical feed raw materials are very poorly available. This applies in particular to barley, but also to other grains. The logistics are very difficult, ABZ concludes. Market leader ForFarmers also gives similar signals and states that logistics deliveries are difficult to organize. A call through the market produces disturbing sounds.
'Push and pull'
Booijink cattle feed from Raalte (Overijssel) does not want to create panic, but does want to emphasize the urgency of the delivery problems. According to the company, there has been a push and pull all year to obtain feed raw materials and the situation is steadily deteriorating. "There were similar supply problems two years ago, with vitamins. That eventually ended with a fizzle, but that is no guarantee that this will happen again," said a company employee.
Cefetra Rotterdam
According to the spokesperson, it is difficult to determine where the cause of the problem lies. We can't always get a good look at the supply chain, but we hear that the supply problems are mainly due to a lack of truck drivers. Booijink advises livestock farmers to order on time and keep ample stocks. "We of course hope that the situation will improve, but that is just a guess."
A shortage of truck drivers seems to be a logical cause of the problem. Drivers are few and far between in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. This has come to light now that the corona measures have been phased out and the economy is picking up. Solutions to this problem are not immediately available, because the driver shortage has many structural causes, ABN Amro recently concluded. One of these is the aging population and the lack of successors. This means that the availability of raw materials is unlikely to be a temporary problem.
Cluster of problems
According to commodity trader Cefetra from Rotterdam, it is 'code orange' in terms of scarcity. A trader from the company speaks about a cluster of problems that make it difficult to deliver raw materials on time. "Logistics are faltering both by road and by water." Transport is often difficult at this time of year, because it is harvest time and agricultural transport companies have their hands full transporting potatoes and onions. This year, however, the situation is much more difficult than usual.
The supply of grains from European countries is complex now that fewer cars are rolling off the production line due to a chip shortage. Grain containers are often an interesting return freight, but there is less transport now. The feed raw materials themselves are also scarce, says the trader. "This is due to the late corn harvest in France and Germany." The Cefetra trader does not dare to estimate how the coming weeks will unfold. "We live day by day."
Prices skyrocket
Meanwhile, the prices of physical animal feed raw materials continue to increase. The price dip that occurred during the off-season period has been reversed in recent weeks. The price of feed barley (Rotterdam) increased this week by no less than €16 to €269 per tonne. Feed wheat increased by €11,50 to €276 per tonne. Such high price levels have not been seen for years and thus underline the tightness on the market. The last time these price levels were on the boards was in 2012. Livestock farmers must expect further pellet prices to rise and hope that grain logistics do not deteriorate further.