30 June 2022 – It is easy to see why interest in the feed enzyme category is higher than ever. Whether motivated by the high price and scarce availability of feed raw materials or by pressure to reduce the environmental footprint of their feed formulations, farmers are keen to extract the maximum nutrients out of their feed, and enzymes are a critical tool in doing so.
Responding to this interest, BASF announced earlier this year that it had expanded the production capacity of its feed enzymes plant in Ludwigshafen. Although the company does not provide figures indicating the extent of its production capacity, it claims the works “significantly increased the annual number of feasible fermentation runs” as well as improved the downstream processes allowing it to offer its feed enzymes in granule, powder, and liquid form.
Moreover, as explained by Dr. Kumar Baburao Kore, Global Product Manager for Feed Enzymes and Dr. Peter Ader, Senior Expert and Technical Marketing Manager for Feed Enzymes, this is not the only investment the company has made in the booming category. Below, the two BASF enzymes experts discuss what the expansion of BASF’s factory and the development of its portfolio will mean for the market.
[Feedinfo] What made this the right time for an expansion in feed enzymes? How long was this project in the works at BASF?
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[Kumar Baburao Kore] According to various market studies, the demand for feed enzymes will grow globally by 3-5% p.a. [CAGR, Compound Annual Growth Rate] in the coming years. As a pioneer and one of the leading suppliers of feed enzymes, BASF Animal Nutrition has prepared itself for this market development, expanded its production capacities at an early stage and intends to meet a significant part of this demand. After BASF's decision to expand its enzyme production capacity made in 2018, the design of the expanded facility was worked out and construction began in 2020. We then announced the completion of the expansion in January 2022. By this time, we had completed the construction work, connected the new parts of the plant to the existing one, and successfully carried out the trial runs. Since then, we have been able to produce larger quantities of feed enzymes. |
Dr. Kumar Baburao Kore |
[Feedinfo] Does this plant supply feed enzymes to the entire world, or is it just one of a number of feed enzymes plants in BASF’s global production network?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] The increased production capacity includes the BASF feed enzymes Natuphos® E (phytase), Natugrain® TS (xylanase + glucanase) and the recently launched product Natupulse® TS (mannanase). BASF Animal Nutrition manufactures all feed enzymes in Germany. The enzyme fermentation is part of the integrated production network in Ludwigshafen - we call it “Verbund” - one of the largest chemical complexes in the world. Together with the site’s own power station, BASF Ludwigshafen ensures excellent conditions for sustainable production of the feed enzymes, which also takes into account strict requirements for environment and safety at the site.
[Feedinfo] Can you quantify your growth in the feed enzymes category over the last few years and explain the main drivers behind this growth? Do you believe there are certain regions or applications which are particularly promising in terms of potential growth over the next few years?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] The increasing demand for animal proteins such as meat, eggs, and fish have been driving the growth of the market for feed enzymes. Another major growth driver is the ongoing industrialization of meat production in emerging countries.
Nevertheless, strong increase of demand for feed enzymes can also be observed in countries with developed economies, mainly driven by the application of higher inclusion rates for phytase and the mounting use of various NSP (non-starch polysaccharides)-degrading enzymes to reduce feed costs. Today, the global enzyme market is valued at more than EUR 1 billion and we see a continued upwards trend. BASF Animal Nutrition has participated in this market and feed enzymes sales have continuously grown over the last years. Therefore, a capacity expansion was needed to enable further growth with current and future customers.
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Dr. Peter Ader
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[Peter Ader] The fact that BASF's feed enzymes have proven highly effective in contributing to more sustainable animal protein production by improving nutrient utilization in feed, saving raw material resources and reducing the excretion of environmentally harmful substances such as ammonia and phosphate by monogastric livestock has certainly contributed to this. This application in particular is a major driver for further developments in the field of feed enzyme-based innovations and solutions. Furthermore, an important factor in enabling growth is to achieve the widest possible approval of the feed enzymes in all regions. That's why our regulatory department is constantly working determinedly to expand our enzyme registrations globally. |
[Feedinfo] To what extent have recent events such as the price increase of inorganic phosphates or the drive to reduce nutrient pollution in certain European markets boosted interest in phytase solutions? Do you think this category still has significant room for growth, or is its use today more or less universal?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] Exogenous phytase is the most common enzyme in the feeding of monogastric farm animals – and because it replaces essential mineral phosphorous (P), it is likely the most important as well. The world's first commercial phytase, Natuphos®, capable of breaking down phytate, was introduced by BASF back in 1991. In the meantime, BASF has begun offering a much more powerful phytase with Natuphos® E and numerous scientific publications confirm the high efficacy of Natuphos® E and its benefits:
1. reduced feed costs,
2. reduced P-excretion via manure and
3. reduced consumption of natural inorganic P (iP) sources.
[Peter Ader] The phytate-P content is known to vary in different feeds. With a further increase of the phytase dosage one comes closer to the goal of an even better utilization of phytate phosphorus. From a cost point of view, the recent price increases for inorganic phosphorus (iP) sources (e.g. MCP, MDCP) definitely justify this measure, even if one considers that the dose-response curve decreases with increasing dose rates and forms a plateau. Replacing some amounts of feedstuffs with low phytate-P by feedstuffs with high phytate-P levels (e.g. soybean meal by rape seed meal or sunflower meal) in line with higher dose rates of phytase could also be a tool for reduced need of iP.
However, with this approach, it would likely be possible to eliminate the addition of iP compounds to the diet for certain species or feeding phases and rely entirely on the release of phosphorus by a phytase like BASF Natuphos® E. In many countries this has already been established in growing and finishing pigs, not only for cost reasons but also by increasing environmental awareness. However, some of our recent studies also show the potential for complete replacement of iP in feed for piglets and even for fattening poultry.
[Feedinfo] BASF’s latest addition to its enzymes portfolio is Natupulse® TS. What kind of an enzyme is this? What kinds of diets would benefit from its use?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] Our recently launched Natupulse® TS expands and complements BASF Animal Nutrition's portfolio of feed enzymes. Natupulse® TS belongs to the group of NSP enzymes and is an endo-1,4-ß-D-mannanase, which hydrolyses ß-mannans into smaller components, for example, manno-oligosaccharides (MOS). From our research, we know that a significant amount of nutrients – e.g. up to 30% in modern poultry diets – remains undigested. This is partially due to the presence of antinutritional factors (ANFs).
With our existing enzyme portfolio of BASF Natuphos® E (phytase) and BASF Natugrain® TS (xylanase and glucanase), we were able to counteract the effects of some of these ANFs like phytate, arabinoxylans, and ß-glucans in the feed. With BASF Natupulse® TS (ß-mannanase), we have complemented our feed enzyme portfolio and are now able to provide a solution to degrade the ANF ß-mannan, an important NSP, mainly present in soybean meal and other plant-based protein sources.
[Feedinfo] What advantages does it provide to poultry producers?
[Peter Ader] When developing BASF Natupulse® TS, one key consideration was to optimally adapt it to the needs of both our customers and animals. From both a commercial and a sustainability perspective, we simply cannot afford to waste 30% of potential nutrients. The addition of Natupulse® TS to the diet enables poultry producers to further improve feed efficiency and reduce the amount of undigested nutrients. For this reason, Natupulse® TS is an indispensable tool to assist in optimizing feed efficiency and feed costs.
Similar to our other feed enzymes, BASF Natupulse® TS is also optimally adapted to the conditions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of poultry. It develops optimum efficacy at around pH 4 and therefore is perfectly suited to the pH levels found in a chicken’s upper GIT. In this way, the negative effects of ß-mannans can be reduced at a very early stage of digestion. One of the resulting beneficial effects of our new ß-mannanase Natupulse® TS is, for example, a reduced viscosity of the digestive fluid. Thus, BASF Natupulse® TS helps to further increase digestibility, resulting in lower wastage and leading to more sustainable animal production.
[Feedinfo] Where is it currently available, and what are your plans for rolling it out more widely?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] Natupulse® TS is currently registered and available in around 20 countries worldwide. The current focus is on Asia-Pacific and South America, where Natupulse® TS has already been widely and successfully used in feeding. Additionally, BASF Animal Nutrition also has registrations in Mexico and South Africa, and of course, our regulatory team is working on further country-specific registrations for a much broader approval. As a globally active supplier of feed additives, we are striving for approval of BASF feed enzymes in all relevant regions and countries. In order to take advantage of market opportunities in Europe and North America, we are naturally also seeking approval there.
[Feedinfo] The enzymes category is an important one, but a crowded one. How does BASF’s offer stand out from the competition?
[Kumar Baburao Kore] Feed enzymes are an attractive market and BASF, being one of the major pioneers in the use of enzymes in feeding, has conducted a large number of scientific and commercial feeding trials. Moreover, BASF has accumulated a very deep knowledge in all aspects around enzyme application, development and production. Our R&D pipeline comprises a continuous flow of projects aiming to improve our existing enzyme products or even targeting new enzymes. Through permanent benchmark studies, we know exactly what our enzyme products can achieve, how they should be applied for optimal benefit, and what advantages they have.
[Peter Ader] Recent studies have shown that, for example, the positive effects on energy and amino acid utilization might partly be based on fast and complete degradation of phytate-P by high dose rates of BASF Natuphos® E resulting in less “irritation” of the intestinal mucosa and therefore reduced endogenous losses. Our Natugrain® TS with xylanase and glucanase delivers additional energy from the feed and we consider this NSP enzyme to be best-in-class on the market. Recently, we have found in studies that these two enzyme products, like Natupulse® TS, also can potentially have a positive effect on intestinal health by modifying the microbiome.
A key strength is that BASF fulfils all the requirements of a global and major supplier of feed enzymes: enzyme engineering, fermentation, formulation, production, analytics as well as deep knowledge in the field of necessary regulatory approvals (registration), product application and markets. Our broad portfolio comprises four major feed enzymes coming in a variety of concentrations and formulations like powder, liquid and granules, which offers solutions for the most relevant applications in that field. In addition, with Natuphos® E 5000 Combi, BASF offers a multi-enzyme product in which the activities of all containing enzymes is guaranteed.
[Kumar Baburao Kore] Another aspect that characterizes the quality of our enzymes is their overall stability, which is extremely important for feed enzymes to ensure that the expected enzyme activity does really arrive in the animal’s digestive tract after product storage, transport, premix- and feed production. Therefore, we have focused on enzyme products that can withstand high pelleting temperatures and have excellent storability and durability in premix and compound feed. Hence, our feed enzyme products can be considered as top performers.
Collaboration drives our business and is one of its major hallmarks. As well as working closely with academic and industry peers, we also work collaboratively across the global BASF organization, leveraging our combined expertise and resources. The recently announced partnership on innovation with Cargill Animal Nutrition boosts this knowledge even further, bringing innovation even closer to our customers’ needs. Joining forces with Cargill has already resulted in a healthy pipeline of joint innovation projects.
[Feedinfo] What are some of the most exciting advances in the enzymes space in recent years? What are BASF’s innovation and R&D efforts in this category focusing on?
[Peter Ader] Enzymes have become indispensable as feed additives to improve efficiency and sustainability in animal protein production. Today, our customers care most about consistent response, about efficiency, and about reliability – this enables a smooth reliable customer operation with peace of mind. This is where we dedicate our efforts towards: to make our existing enzymes continuously more efficient and more reliable, while keeping the return on investment of our customers in mind. By leveraging the holistic development from our development center for enzymes in San Diego, through our dedicated pilot plant facility, and our many academic and industrial collaborations, we will continue to provide new enzyme products, serving our customers with improved solutions and growing together with them in a sustainable way.
Published in association with BASF
