The animal feed industry in Mexico has continued to grow, reaching a total value of MX$145,000 million (US$7.7 billion) in 2023, according to a new report titled “La Industria de Alimento Para Mascotas (The Animal Feed Industry)” by Amexfal, a company that provides consulting and other services to the food and feed industry in Mexico.

Although the country has been hit by inflation like almost every other country in the world, not only is the growth in pet food sales due to higher prices; the amount of pet food produced has also been increasing for several years. After a slight decline in production in 2023, the amount of pet food is expected to reach 1.85 million tons in 2024, a growth rate of 2.5% that is expected to continue annually until 2030. This year, 2.2 million tons of pet food is forecast to be produced.

Dogs and dog food dominate the market

Most of the pet food produced and sold in Mexico is for dogs, as they are by far the most common pet. According to the Amexfal report, of the country’s 35.8 million households, almost 70% have pets: 80 million in total, or an average of 2.3 pets per household. The majority are dogs, with 43.8 million, followed by cats, with 16.2 million, and other pets (fish, small mammals, reptiles and birds), with 20 million.

Dog food and cat food dominate the pet food market, especially the former. In terms of food types, dry dog ​​food represents 62% of available pet food products (and 50.4% in supermarkets, the largest retail channel for pet food in Mexico). Wet dog food represents 9% of available pet food products in all retail channels, and dog treats represent 4%. For cats, 18% of available pet food products are dry food, followed by 6% wet cat food and 1% cat treats.

Not surprisingly, dry dog ​​food also accounts for the largest share of pet food produced, accounting for 55% or 987,166 tonnes in 2023, followed by dry cat food at 24% or 435,247 tonnes. Of all types of pet food, the total amount of dog food in 2023 was 1.375 million tonnes and that of cat food was 414,076 tonnes.

A few large manufacturers produce 80% of animal feed

In 2023, the number of animal feed products regulated by the Mexican government was 3,139, and 80% of them were produced by just 50 of the 203 regulated animal feed manufacturers. These 203 companies are dominated by companies that produce products under their own brands in addition to animal feed for other brands: only 14 of the companies fall into this category, but they produced 1.65 million tons of animal feed in 2023, or 80% of the total.

Other types of pet food companies in Mexico include 39 that exclusively manufacture and sell their own brands (9% of production (179,000 tonnes), 57 maquilados that distribute their own brands from third-party manufacturers (6% or 122,000 tonnes) and importers/distributors of foreign brands (5% or 113,000 tonnes).