Global use and trade of feedstuffs and consequences for the nitrogen cycle

Abstract

This paper presents an estimate of the amount of nitrogen involved in the use and trade of feedstuffs for a number of world regions. Livestock production has shown a steady increase world-wide as a result of an annual increase of 1.4% in developing countries and 0.9% in developed countries during the period 1960–1990. Particularly in developing countries, the strong growth of animal production and a tendency towards decreasing reliance on grazing and increasing importance of fodder crops and feed concentrates, cause a major increase in the consumption of feedstuffs. Cereals form the major feedstuff world-wide. The current global use of cereals for feed is about 30% of the total use (57% in developed countries and 17% in developing countries). Net trade of cereals and other feedstuffs represents 4–8 Tg N per year, which is only 4–7% of the total N consumption by the world's animal population. A strong growth of the per capita food consumption, a relative increase of meat consumption, coupled with a strong population growth, may cause a strong increase of the net trade of cereals. In particular the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and China may become important importers of cereals. In future, the N transport between regions in the form of feedstuffs may become an important component in the global N cycle.