Overall global animal protein consumption remained resilient throughout the year driven by good demand for poultry. Market conditions in China remained subdued with pork demand stabilizing in the second part of the year but not showing the anticipated recovery.
The ANH business operated in an exceptionally challenging environment being impacted by an imbalance in the global feed additive marketplace due to ongoing destocking as farmers’ profitability was squeezed on substantially higher input costs. This was most pronounced in China where pork production has been loss making throughout the year. These difficult market conditions led to unprecedented low levels of vitamin prices, as well as under-utilization of the vitamins asset base, resulting in a very weak performance of the essential ingredients activities of ANH.
The year 2023 reaffirmed the need for more sustainable animal protein. Despite the adverse business environment, we continued the strong growth of our Performance and Precision solutions, while taking decisive action to emerge stronger from the vitamins crisis.
