Feed group South sees sales of feeds growing in 2021

Feed group South sold more feed last year. The feed group from Deurne states that it has gained market share in every sector in which the cooperative company is active. The number of members has grown by a net amount of fifty livestock farmers. "A great performance in a challenging market, with a better financial result," said general manager Ronald van de Ven in a statement.

However, Voergroep Zuid does not disclose the turnover and profit in euros over the past year. The final figures must first be approved by the Members' Council before the figures are published. Due to the sharp rise in raw material prices, the turnover of Voergroep Zuid also grew strongly.

The total production of Voergroep Zuid grew by 2,2% last year to 685.000 tons. Sales of compound feed to the poultry sector increased by 17%. In the cattle sector and goat farming, sales grew by 11% and 19% respectively. The sale of pig feeds has decreased, however. In pig farming, more than two-thirds of the feed sales that were lost at the beginning of 2021 due to the pig farming restructuring scheme have been replaced by new customers, Voergroep Zuid reports. The pig market in the south of the Netherlands has shrunk by approximately 10,6%, a spokesperson reported. The decline in sales, however, is limited to 5%.

Van de Ven is very concerned about the persistently low pig prices, in combination with the high raw material prices. "This puts enormous pressure on our customers in the pig farming sector." At the beginning of this year, Voergroep Zuid decided to temporarily extend the payment term for members to give pig farmers experiencing liquidity problems.

Keeping a grip on the most important cost item
Van de Ven says he is proud of this result, in the midst of the corona crisis. "As a vital sector, feed production could always continue. Sometimes it was a challenge to get all that feed to the farmer in the silo on time. With the necessary flexibility of our production employees and drivers, it all went well."

He also sees a growing appreciation among livestock farmers for medium-sized feed cooperatives such as Voergroep Zuid. "Instead of earning money for external shareholders, we like to keep the focus on the returns of our members. That appeals to farmers. It makes sense for farmers to keep a grip on their most important cost item: compound feed through regional cooperatives."

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