Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan An Overview

By Dr. Arshaq Ramzee - U.M. Enterprises

Representative office Van Aarsen Int., Karachi Pakistan
Updated: April 2009

Introduction
Role of feed and nut rit ion for livest ock product ion is as essent ial as management or
animal it self but it s fiscal cont ribut ion surpasses all ot her aspect s. A good nut rit ion
plays a significant role for opt imum product ion and in my opinion, on a scale of 1 t o
10, it has rat ing of 7. Since last t wo decades science of nut rit ion, bot h in humans and
animals, has t aken cent re-st age in t he field of research, rat her it is considered more
important than pathological or medicinal aspects of production and life.

History
Hist ory of poult ry feed manufact uring in Pakist an has also developed wit h t he poult ry
management pract ices. In t he beginning, commercial poult ry farming was int roduced
by PIA in collaborat ion wit h Shavers poult ry giant of t he commercial poult ry indust ry.
Feed manufact uring was st art ed in 1962 by anot her mult inat ional, Lever Brot hers
under foreign t ut elage; Dr. Schnider was t he first consult ant nut rit ionist in Pakist an
while Mr. I.A. Khan (B.Sc. Bio Chemistry) who at that time was working in the Nutrition
Depart ment of College of Vet erinary Sciences, Lahore (now Universit y of Vet erinary &
Animal Sciences) was his assist ant . They st art ed first commercial poult ry feed mill at
Rahim Yar Khan at t he cent re of Pakist an. Pioneers of Pakist an poult ry indust ry
perhaps t hought t hat from t his place t hey could deliver feed t o every corner of
Pakist an more efficient ly. As in t he beginning poult ry farming was concent rat ed in
Karachi; t herefore, second feed mill was built in Hyderabad in 1964 by Wazir Ali
Indust ries (WA Feeds). Mr. Riaz Chaudhry (MSc Bio Chemist ry) from CVS was t he
nut rit ionist while Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Chaudhry (Baba-e-Poult ry) was t he first
veterinarian in the field of poultry nutrition to act as his assistant. It is very interesting
t o not e t hat Wazir Ali Indust ry was business rivals of Lever Brot hers in t he field of
cooking oil (ghee) and soap. They followed t he same pat h of feed manufact uring but
eventually stopped their feed venture within few months.

To provide feed in Punj ab Lat e Mian Mukht ar (elder brot her of Mian Mumt az)
const ruct ed a feed mill, Ani Feed in Guj ranwala in 1967. The lat e Dr. Naseer But t was
t he first full t ime vet erinarian nut rit ionist ; Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, Dr. Tariq Anj um and Dr.
Zia Qureshi joined Ani Feed as his assistants. In 1968 Aftab Feed was built in Karachi by
Mian Aft ab; but lat er on changed it s name t o Mehran Feeds and Dr. Waheed Shah was
product ion manager wit h Lat e Dr. Nawaz as his assist ant . (Before bot h of t hem
founded t heir own feed mill company in Karachi, Shah Nawaz Feeds in 1980, Lat e Dr.
Nawaz st art ed a feed mill in Mult an, Cheeko Feeds.) Then t o meet growing demand of
poult ry feed, especially in Punj ab, t wo new feed mills emerged, Ravi Feeds in Lahore
and Al-Fat ah Feeds in Faisalabad in 1969. Dr. Akht ar Sheikh j oined Ravi Feeds and Dr.
Tanveer Alvi j oined Al-Fat ah Feeds as nut rit ionist while Professor MB Sial was
consult ant at Al-Fat ah Feeds. In 1970 Ghazi Feed was const ruct ed at Faisalabad and

Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan -1- April 2009

Dr. Tariq Anj um was nut rit ionist in t he same feed. Almost at t he same t ime Chaudhry
Niaz had also st art ed his operat ion of feed manufact uring under t he name of Niaz
Feeds.

Incident ally owners of Ani Feed, Aft ab Feed and Ravi Feed are close relat ives. Out of
all t hese pioneers only Pak Feeds st ill produce poult ry feed and all ot her mills cease t o
exist except that building and plant of Mehran Feeds in Karachi is still present but they
are not producing feed anymore. Finally in early 2008 Ravi Feeds has also stopped their
business and their feed mill is also waiting for a customer or dismantling.

It is pert inent t o ment ion t hat when in 1969 Ani Feed achieved t he sale of 3000 bags
per mont h, t here was a big celebrat ion. A big part y was arranged t o celebrat e t his
huge occasion. This occasion is being quot ed t o form an opinion about t he magnit ude
of the industry during those times.

During t his decade Kays Feed also st art ed manufact uring and selling commercial feed
in Karachi under t he leadership of Mr. Khalil Sat t ar. Alt hough K&N s group is among t he
largest producer of day old layer chicks but t hey are no more manufact uring feed for
commercial sale as Kays Feed has stopped its operation. Mr. Khalil Sattar who is among
t he surviving pioneers of t he poult ry indust ry has also st art ed his chicken processing
unit , Value Chicken in Lahore. It is relevant t o ment ion t hat t his unit was pioneered by
a Belgian based company but t hey sold t heir operat ion t o Mr. Khalil Sat t ar and very
recent ly t his group has rest art ed manufact uring feed for t heir own use in Lahore as
Adil Feeds.

In 1973 Munnoo family built it s first feed mill, Karachi Feeds in Karachi under t he
leadership of Lat e Mian Bashir wit h his four sons, Mian Khurshid, Mian Naseer, Mian
Shakil, Mian Jamil and his brot her Mian Munir. In t he early sevent ies Nice Feed was
st art ed in Faisalabad by Dr. Ghafoor, Haj i Ilyas, and Mr. Iqbal but lat er on Dr. Ghafoor,
Mr. Fayyaz and Mr. Iqbal st art ed t heir own feed mill, Avis Feed in Faisalabad. During
t hese years, people st art ed t o accept commercial poult ry meat and eggs as accept able
food, ot herwise people generally didn t rat e eggs and meat produced by t he
commercial poult ry as wholesome food or some even considered it as un-Islamic. Wit h
t he accept ance of people, demand also increased; hence it result ed in remarkable
growt h of t he indust ry. Many new companies emerged; Gama Feeds by Dawood group
in Burewala, Pano Feeds in Mansehra, Silver Feeds in Karachi, Sindh Feeds in Karachi
by Lat e Sheikh Anwar, Dawn Feeds in Karachi and Hi Feeds in Guj ranwala. At t he same
t ime, small t ime feed mills also emerged in different areas of Pakist an for self
product ion. Concept of home mixing also came int o being, especially in Karachi. Few
mills wit h simple mixing and grinding unit s were built wit h st ock of ingredient s in hand
and farmers came wit h t heir own formulat ions, bought t he mat erial from t he mill and
t hen t hey used t he facilit y t o prepare t he feed on specific milling charges. During t his
decade Kamalia, Arif Wala and Ghakhar emerged as big poult ry cent ers especially for
layers and many small scale feed mills were also appeared in t hese areas t o cat er for
local requirement s. In t his decade t he pioneer of poult ry feed indust ry, Lever feeds
closed their business forever.

In ninet een eight ies, more feed mills were const ruct ed all over Pakist an; Olympia
group started their second feed mill, Punjab Feeds near Sheikhupura. Few other names

Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan -2- April 2009

t o ment ion, Kohinoor Feed (it changed it s name t o New Sind but again adopt ed t he old
name t ill last news) and Feroze Feed in Karachi (first ever mill built on t urn key basis
by famous int ernat ional company Van Aarsen of Holland). At t he same t ime, many
small mills (Faran Feeds, Makran Feeds, Shan Feeds, et c.) also appeared in Karachi
wit h t he home mixing facilit ies but all of t hem disappeared from t he scene. Dr.
Ghafoor again st art ed a new feed mill, Supreme Feeds in Faisalabad in part nership
wit h Mr. Zahid. In Punj ab, Hi Tech, Nat ional, SB, Islamabad, Big Bird and Asia also
emerged and have now developed int o huge groups and leaders of t he indust ry. Umda
feed was founded by lat e Dr. Naseer But t in Guj ranwala but didn t last long. In t he
same decade Olympia group built yet anot her feed mill, Lahore Feeds on Mult an Road,
but anot her feed mill wit h t he same name, also began it s operat ion in Lahore by
Chaudhry Anwar and Dr. Saeed but lat er on t hey closed t heir operat ion under heavy
debt . Now t his feed mill has been purchased by Sheikh Noor Elahi and current ly run
very successfully by his son Shahzad Elahi. Con Impex of Mult an built a small feed
manufact uring unit in Mult an but lat er on built a larger semi-aut omat ic mill also in
Multan.

From 1990 onward growt h in poult ry sect or was on t remendous scale despit e few
setbacks but it is significant t o ment ion t hat during t his period balance of growt h
great ly t ilt ed in favor of Punj ab region inst ead of Karachi and Sind. Many groups had
t remendous expansion not only in feed manufact uring but also in t heir breeder
production. Hi Tech group, Nat ional group, Olympia group led t he race in feed
product ion and became poult ry indust ry giant s closely followed by SB group, Asia Feed
group and Islamabad group (all in Punj ab). Alt hough, Hi Tech group has split int o t wo
groups recent ly, Hi Tech and Shahzor, but Hi Tech Feed Mill at Raiwind st ill has t he
dist inct ion t o be t he largest feed mill in Pakist an wit h t he capacit y t o process 75 t ons
of feed per hour. Nat ional group built Punj nad Feeds in Okara area and most recent ly
t hey st art ed anot her feed manufact uring operat ion in Sahiwal, Supreme Feeds. In t he
early part of t his decade Pioneer Feeds also st art ed it s operat ion in Lahore by Sheikh
Akbar of Kohinoor Feeds, Dr. Idrees and Lat e Dr. Shaukat But t but it also closed it s
operation in the same decade. Now t his fact ory is operat ed and owned by Mr. Fargham
Toor of Sut lej Feeds. Lat er on Pioneer Feeds reappeared in Karachi. Qualit y, Capit al,
Khushal, Hi Grow, Chakwal feed mills were also built during t his decade on small scale
as compared t o ot hers in Islamabad area while Cryst al feed mill, a second proj ect of
Chakwal Feed in Mult an, Chenab Feeds ot her feed mill of Asia Feed in Okara, Shamim
Feeds in Bahawalpur, Shabbir Feeds in Mult an, Himalaya Feeds in Rahim Yar Khan,
Kashmir Feeds near Lahore, Kausar Feeds in Okara, Crescent Feeds in Lahore, Sut lej
Feeds at Mult an Road near Lahore, Rust am Feeds in Samundri are also few names
wort h ment ioning. Despit e t he fact t hat most of t he growt h in poult ry indust ry is
happening in Punj ab area but few new feed mills also emerged like Marj an Feeds and
Qaswa Feeds in Karachi and A-One Feeds in Hyderabad. Numerous ot her small feed
mills all over Pakistan also appeared and disappeared regularly.

Shahzor group (now named as Sabir s) has erect ed and st art ed Mult an Feeds near
Mult an while Sharif Feed by Sharif s (Shahbaz Sharif family) has also commenced it s
commercial operat ion. Hi Tech and SB group are current ly in t he process t o build new
feed mills in Sahiwal, bot h feed mills are planned t o manufact ure 120 t ons pellet feed
per hour. Big Feed has also build a new feed mill t ower at t he old locat ion and
currently producing feed from new facility.

Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan -3- April 2009

Some new feed mill plant s are under const ruct ion in Punj ab; Dawood Feed by Pakasia
group near Pat t oki and Khawaj a Feeds in Mult an, bot h of t hese plant s are expect ed t o
st art product ion wit hin t his year. OK Feed (Van Aarsen Pellet Mill C750) by OK Oil is
being also const ruct ed near Pat t oki. Dr. Ghulam Nabi of Asia Feeds t oo is planning t o
build a new feed mill in Karachi along wit h Mr. Nabi Bakhsh of Sind Feeds, moreover
Dr. Aslam of Islamabad group is planning for a new feed mill in Okara area. Younger
brot her of Dr. Sadiq, Mian Javed who recent ly separat ed from SB Poult ry t o st art his
own brand as Jadeed Chicks is also assembling a feed mill near Khanewal. These feed
mills are expected to commence their operation in 2010.

I would also like t o ment ion few names for t heir commendable cont ribut ion t o poult ry
feed business:

Nutritionists: In t he senior generat ion Lat e Dr. Saleem Qureshi and Dr. Malik Yaqoob
had provided guidance t o t his indust ry during it s infancy in t he field of nut rit ion along
wit h Lat e Dr. MB Sial. Lat e Dr. Naseer But t , Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, Dr. Waheed Shah, Dr.
Tariq Anj um, Dr. Samar Arshad, Dr. Akht ar Sheikh, Dr. Zia Qureshi, Dr. Tanvir Alvi, Dr.
Musaddiq Asif, Dr. Iqbal, Lat e Dr. Shabbir Baig, Lat e Dr. Nawaz are t he few names
wort h ment ioning in senior cadre. For second generat ion nut rit ionist s, we should
ment ion Lat e Dr. Shaukat But t , Dr. Munawar Ali, Dr. Muhammad At har, Dr. Ahsan
Siddiqui, Dr. Gulraiz, Dr. Abid Maqbool, Dr. Mirza Zafar, Dr. Zulfiqar and Lat e Dr.
At t ique for t heir cont ribut ion. Last ly, few emerging names of t he t hird generat ion
nut rit ionist s include Dr. Ift ikhar Mashadi, Dr. Mian Khalil, Dr. Muzammil, Dr. Lut fullah,
Dr. Faisal, Dr. Dawood, Dr. Riaz Bhat t i, Dr. Tariq, Dr. Sherazi, Dr. Usama Aft ab, Dr.
Babar, Dr. Ramzan, Dr. Sohail, Dr. Aziz, Dr. Tehseen, Dr. Amin, Dr. Azhar, Dr. Rizwan,
Dr. Hafiz Imran, Dr. Mahmood, Dr. Saqib Butt, Dr. Aleem, Dr. Ali Ahmad, etc.

Industrialists: For t he development of poult ry feed indust ry on modern foot ing, we

should ment ion Mr. Bill Macphegan, Lat e Maj . Anwar, Commander Afzal, Lat e Sheikh
Zahoor, Lat e Mian Mukht ar, Mian Mumt az, Mian Aft ab, Mian Khalid Gulmaluk, Mian
Nasir, Lat e Sheikh Anwar, Sheikh Fazal Elahi, Sheikh Noor Elahi, Mian Naseer, Mian
Shakil, Haji Muhammad Bashir, Dr. Sabir, Dr. Muhammad Arshad, Dr. Muhammad Sadiq,
Dr. Ghulam Nabi, Dr. Muhammad Aslam, Dr. Abdul Karim Bhat t i, Mr. Sohail Shamsi,
Sheikh Mumt az, Sheikh Akbar, Sheikh Naseer, Mir Tahir Zaidi, Mr. Farooq Asghar, Dr.
Zafar ul Islam Siddiqui, Dr. Tariq, Malik Hamid. Now t o ment ion few names in t he
cat egory of next generat ion of feed indust rialist s: Mian Shehryar, Sheikh Nabi Bakhsh,
Shahzad Elahi, Mian Zeeshan Munnoo, Mr. Javed Arshad, Mr. Zubair Sadiq, Mr. Imran
Ijaz, Mian Kashif Mansha, Malik Shoaib, Dr. Malik Attique, Mr. Zubair Farooq.

Other Names to mention: St ill act ive most senior or rat her first poult ry vet erinarians
are Dr. AA Qureshi and Dr. MA Nadeem. Late Haji Siddiq of Bahoo Industry was the first
Pakistani who manufactured mill machinery in Pakistan.

Educat ionist s: We must ment ion services of Dr. Malik Yaqoob, Dr. Ibrar Hussain Gilani,
Dr. Talat Naseer Pasha.

Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan -4- April 2009

Evolution of the Science of Nutrition and Feed Manufacturing
When poultry industry took its roots in Pakistan, science of nutrition along with genetic
pot ent ial of t he commercial chicken was not as of present day chicken. At t hat t ime,
in meat product ion (broiler) a feed conversion rat io (FCR) of 2.5 (t hat is 3 Kg of feed
for one Kg of live weight ) wit h live weight of 1.25 t o 1.5 Kg in 8 weeks was considered
t o be best . For egg laying bird 150 eggs per hen per cycle was considered best and
feed int ake of 130 t o 150 grams per hen per day for t his kind of product ion was also
t hought t o be accept able wit hout considering nut rient s supply per unit basis. In t he
early days, feed formulat ion was a simple calculat ion or mat hemat ics and as
nut rit ionist was formulat ing a balanced formula wit hout t he help of calculat or, he was
considered genius even wit h t he above ment ioned result s. Wit h t he evolut ion of
science and it s gadget s, now t he nut rit ionist uses st at e of art soft ware and comput er
t o formulat e a feed wit h many paramet ers which were considered as miracles during
early days. These days FCR below 2 and weight of 2 Kg or above in five t o six weeks is
considered as normal for broilers. For layers a product ion of more t han 325 eggs per
cycle with feed intake of 100 to 110 grams are the parameters for good production.

In t he beginning, for feed mixing you needed a mixer t o blend different ingredient s
and a hammer mill for part icle size reduct ion. Lever Feeds also int roduced crumb feed
but it t ot ally flopped and t hey had t o close crumb feed manufact uring. Pellet and
Crumb feed was re-int roduced by Lat e Sheikh Anwar of Sind Feed in mid t o lat e
eight ies closely followed by Olympia group; t hen post grinding syst em along wit h
bet t er condit ioning syst ems for pellet ing was evolved. Now t he feed manufact uring
operat ion is much more syst emat ized wit h t he use of aut omat ic bat ch cont rollers and
comput erized program wit h logical cont rol (PLC) t o produce high qualit y feed. It is
wort h ment ioning t hat upon reint roduct ion of pellet feed, it st ill t ook t ime t o be
popular. Init ially feed mills were offering cash incent ive t o lure farmers t o buy pellet
or crumb feed unt il mid ninet ies. Anyhow aft er 2000 almost 90% feed is sold as crumb
or pellet and now feed millers are charging more for crumb and pellet.

St orage of t he mat erial was not needed in t he early days. Wit h increase in t he poult ry
populat ion, magnit ude of t he feed manufact uring has also great ly increased.
Ingredient s like rice, maize, wheat , et c used in t he feed formulat ion were available
only in t heir respect ive seasons. To st ore t hem for longer period, feed miller st art ed
using st at e of art st orage t echnique. Grain silos were int roduced in eight ies for mass
storage of ingredients to make them available for formulation round the year.

Note: I would like t o express my sincere t hanks t o Dr. MA Nadeem, Dr. Abdul Ghaf oor Chaudhry, Dr.
Anwar Randhawa, and Dr. Muhammad At har f or t heir cooperat ion t o complet e t his art icle. However, any
omission, error or mistake is highly regretted, as this may not be intentional.

Poultry Feed Industry of Pakistan -5- April 2009