US food processing company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is expanding its animal nutrition capacity in China. A new feed-premix facility will be built in Xiangtan, Hunan province, central China, while in the east of the country ADM will add extra aquaculture feed production lines at its existing complex in Nanjing, Jiangsu. Investment costs in the projects were not disclosed.

The Xiantan facility will have an annual capacity of 120,000 t for premix, concentrate, animal- and fish-complete feeds. ADM said the plant is strategically located to supply customers in the three central provinces of Hunan, Hubei and Guangxi. The aquaculture lines in Nanjing will produce 50,000 t/y of extruded and pelleted feeds during the six-month season that runs from April to September. Completion of both projects is targeted for early 2019.

Brent Fenton, president of ADM Animal Nutrition, said population growth and higher disposable incomes continue to support increased animal protein demand in China. “Our new Xiangtan feed-premix facility—our fifth animal feed plant in the country—will position us to continue meeting this increased demand in the central part of the country and the addition of four aquaculture feed lines at our Nanjing plant will offer us entry into the growing Chinese high value specialty aquafeed market,” Fenton said. 

ADM already operates premix plants in Dalian and Tianjin in northern China, as well as in Nanjing. A new 30,000 t/y plant is currently under construction in Zhangzhou, southern China, with completion expected by this summer.