The state and prospects of compound aquafeed production in Ukraine

The study shows the information about the development of the aquaculture sector in Ukraine. The leaders in the cultivation of marketable products in aquaculture in 2021 were Sumy, Cherkasy, Vinnitsa, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions. Cyprinid fish species remain traditional objects of aquaculture: carp, white and bighead carp, their hybrids and grass carp. However, other species have recently been actively cultivated: rainbow trout, European catfish, pike, catfish, crucian carp, tench, and among sturgeons the most common are sterlet, Russian sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, beluga, bester, paddlefish, etc. The market of fish feed production is the following: 50% - for carp, 23%- sturgeons, 10% - catfish, 10% - salmon and 7% - other fish species. 42 % of aquaculture farms use compound feeds (local or foreign), 17 % - produce feeds themselves, 8 % - use grain (majority for carp feeding), 33 % - use grain by products and oil cakes as fish feed ingredients. But the trend towards the gradual transition of many Ukrainian producers to intensive forms of aquaculture with the use of modern compound feed is becoming noticeable. Compound feeds for fish are being improved, adapted to new climatic conditions and fish breeds, and the field of feed sales is also developing. An important slogan of aquaculture: quality feed is the key to a successful business in aquaculture.