• New Kenya plant has 200,000-ton annual capacity, expandable to 260,000

• Group added three African factories in 12 months, one more planned

• African feed market seen reaching $54.9 billion by 2032

Dutch animal nutrition company De Heus said last week it had completed construction of an animal feed plant in Athi River, Kenya. The facility that required an investment of $32 million is scheduled to officially begin operations on February 18. It has an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons, which can be expanded to 260,000 tons. The plant will supply a wide range of specialized feed products for poultry, pigs, ruminants, and aquaculture.

This investment forms part of the group’s accelerating expansion in Africa since last year. Before Kenya, De Heus announced on September 17, 2025 that it had begun steps to establish another plant in Côte d’Ivoire, although it did not disclose the investment cost or planned capacity. Earlier, on September 2, 2025, the company inaugurated a facility in Uganda dedicated exclusively to aquaculture. That site, built at a cost of $25 million, has an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of fish feed.

In March 2025, De Heus also announced the launch of a cattle feed plant in South Africa with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons, where it already operates several industrial sites. In total, the company has strengthened its production capacity on the continent with three new operational plants within 12 months and the announcement of another project in development. The group also has a long-standing industrial presence in countries including Ghana, Egypt, and Ethiopia.

Strong outlook for the African market

The group’s push across Africa between 2025 and 2026 reflects its ambition to capture a larger share of a fast-growing market. According to projections by consulting firm Precision Business Insights, the African animal feed market was valued at $22.75 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 13.4%, reaching $54.88 billion by 2032.

The firm attributes this outlook to rising consumption of meat and other animal protein products, combined with population growth across African countries. It also cites recurring animal disease outbreaks and the large-scale production of livestock in intensive farming systems as additional factors likely to drive feed demand in the coming years.

In this favorable environment, De Heus’ faster investment pace also signals its intention to remain competitive against other multinationals, including Dutch peers Nutreco NV and Koninklijke DSM N.V., U.S.-based Cargill and Novus International, Germany’s BASF SE, and Austria’s Biomin Holding GmbH.

Animal feed production in Africa is expanding under both multinational and local players. According to the latest “Agri-Food Outlook” report by U.S. company Alltech, output rose by 7.2% to 57.7 million tons in 2024, marking the strongest year-on-year growth recorded globally. The report also notes that 40 new animal feed plants entered service across the continent in 2024.

Stéphanas Assocle