The Polish feed industry increased almost 200% in volume since 2000 to about 5.8 million tons annually by about 100 compound feed mills today. This is the result of the development of the Polish livestock sector, characterized by rapid up-scaling of the number of animals per farm. The total amount of pigs has reduced dramatically since 2000, but the broiler and laying hen sector has grown due to increasing domestic consumption. Attention for feed safety assurance is mostly triggered by export markets in Europe for feed ingredients and premixes.
The number of GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) certified companies in Poland has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2012 the number of GMP+ FSA certified companies grew 25% and during the first half of 2013 again 25%, to 537 companies early June 2013. More than half of the GMP+ FSA certified companies in Poland are active in road transport and about 20% in inland waterway transport. The third group is active in trade in feed materials, of which about 15% are GMP+ FSA certified companies. Most of these companies are GMP+ FSA certified in relation to providing transport services and delivering feed materials to other European countries.
About 20 companies produce feed materials. Currently, 4 producers of additives and premixes are certified. In total, 3 compound feed mills of Agrifirm Polska are GMP+ FSA certified. To date, it is the only compound feed producer in Poland.
This is a conscious choice, according Mr. John Dortmans, Managing Director of Agrifirm Polska: "It is our passion at Agrifirm Polska to produce and sell feed concepts which help our customers to improve the results of their business. Our goal is to earn and live up to their trust in us and we work hard to achieve that, every single day. Like our customers, we also want to have a trustworthy supply of raw materials and want to make sure that all processes and procedures in our company are focused on feed safety. This was one of the reasons to have all our factories certified in accordance with the international GMP+ FSA standard. We are proud to be the first Polish feed producer with this certification".
The expectation is that in the near future, feed and food safety assurance will become increasingly important for the Polish market too. GMP+ International, manager of the GMP+ FSA standard, aims to involve all stakeholders in the feed chain in the decision-making process regarding the scheme contents, based on the multi-stakeholder principle. This involvement is realized by means of partnership. Currently, 28 trade associations or food companies are partner of GMP+ International, but none from Poland yet. Johan den Hartog, Managing Director of GMP+ International: "We would like to involve the Polish feed business as well and are looking for Polish partners in the feed business to welcome them."
