Pet food sector growing – but at a slower pace

Global pet food production grew again in 2025, albeit at a slower pace. According to the latest Agri-Food Outlook 2026 from feed manufacturer Alltech, which analyses data from 142 countries and nearly 39,000 feed mills, global pet food volume rose by 2.4% to a total of 39.3m tonnes. This growth is thus significantly more moderate than in previous years.

The main reason for the slowdown is the return to normality in North America, where the pandemic-driven boom is coming to an end. There, volume fell slightly by 0.6% – partly because US pet owners are increasingly switching from large dogs to smaller breeds and cats, which reduces feed consumption per animal.

Countervailing momentum is coming from other regions: Europe grew by 3.5%, driven by a rising proportion of households with pets and a strong export focus – with Germany and Poland standing out in particular. Spain recorded one of the…