Fish feed production lines
Short answer: A fish feed production line is priced around the extruder and the dryer, not the mixer: sinking and floating feeds need different screw configurations and die pressures, and the dryer is usually the single largest energy and footprint item in the plant.
Fish feed manufacturing is a precision process. Water stability, sinking rate and oil inclusion are product specifications, and each of them is set by a different piece of equipment. Extrusion gelatinises starch and controls buoyancy; the dryer controls final moisture and therefore shelf life; the vacuum coater allows oil inclusion above the level the extruder can carry. Missing any of the three produces a line that cannot make the product you sold.
Supplier-neutral: FeedMatch Group does not manufacture, sell, install or finance equipment. It structures your requirement and routes it to qualified third-party suppliers and independent finance providers, who quote and decide on their own account.
The problem buyers hit
Aquafeed buyers are often quoted a pelleting line when their species and pond system require extrusion, or an extruder without a properly sized dryer and vacuum coater — which caps oil inclusion and destroys water stability.
What sits inside the project scope
- Ultra-fine grinding to below 250 microns for the extruder
- Micro and macro dosing and batch mixing
- Preconditioner and single- or twin-screw extruder
- Multi-pass belt dryer with heat recovery
- Vacuum coater for oil and heat-sensitive additives
- Cooling, grading and packing
- Steam and thermal-oil utilities interface
Equipment and work packages to itemise
| Package | What to watch |
|---|---|
| Ultra-fine grinder or micro pulveriser | Particle size below 250 µm — the most commonly under-specified item. |
| Preconditioner | Retention time and steam addition set extrusion consistency. |
| Single- or twin-screw extruder | Twin-screw handles high-fat and shrimp recipes; single-screw is cheaper for standard tilapia and carp feed. |
| Multi-pass belt dryer | Sized on evaporation kg/h, not on tonnes of product. |
| Vacuum coater | Required for oil inclusion above roughly 12–15%. |
| Counterflow cooler and grader | Grading by size band for each fish stage. |
Typical project size and indicative CapEx
Planning bands only, drawn from FeedMatch quotation work. They are budgeting ranges stated with their basis — not offers, not quotations and not a guarantee of any price.
Single-screw extruder, basic dryer.
Twin-screw option, vacuum coating, grading.
Multi-line, heat recovery, full automation.
What actually moves the price
| Factor | Commercial impact |
|---|---|
| Single-screw versus twin-screw | Twin-screw typically adds 40–90% to the extruder line item but unlocks high-fat and micro-diameter products. |
| Dryer type and fuel | Gas, diesel, biomass or steam changes both CapEx and operating cost per tonne substantially. |
| Product diameter range | 0.8–1.5 mm fry feed reduces throughput sharply against 4–8 mm grow-out feed. |
| Oil inclusion target | Above ~15% oil you need vacuum coating, which is a separate machine and control loop. |
| Floating versus sinking | Different die and screw sets; specify the split, not just the total. |
Realistic project timeline
- 1Species, product and buoyancy definition · 2–4 weeks
Diameter range and oil target per product.
- 2RFQ and extruder trial discussion · 5–9 weeks
Ask for a trial run on your recipe at the supplier's pilot line.
- 3Manufacture and shipment · 14–24 weeks
Dryers are long-lead and bulky to ship.
- 4Erection and commissioning · 8–14 weeks
Include a water-stability test in acceptance.
How supplier matching works here
- You state the scope, capacity and site conditions in a structured RFQ.
- FeedMatch normalises the requirement so every supplier quotes the same battery limit and the same acceptance criteria.
- The requirement is routed to qualified third-party suppliers whose declared capability matches the scope, country and capacity band.
- Suppliers quote directly to you; FeedMatch takes no position in the transaction.
- You compare on a like-for-like basis and, if useful, ask independent finance providers to review the same documented scope.
Species and stage; floating versus sinking split; diameter range; target oil inclusion and protein; required water stability in minutes; annual tonnage; available fuel for the dryer; power supply; ambient conditions; acceptance test criteria; delivery terms.
Financing this scope
Aquafeed lines are commonly funded through a letter of credit for the extruder package plus independent equipment finance or development-finance participation where the project supports rural aquaculture. FeedMatch does not lend or guarantee financing outcomes.
Common ways this goes wrong
- Grinding not fine enough for the extruder, producing die blockage and poor stability.
- Dryer sized on product tonnes rather than water evaporation rate.
- No vacuum coater despite a high oil target in the product spec.
- No water-stability acceptance test in the contract.
Next steps and related tools
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fish feed production line cost?
As indicative planning bands: USD 450k–1.1M for a 1–2 t/h entry line, USD 1.4M–4M for a 3–6 t/h commercial line, and USD 5M–15M+ for a 10–20 t/h industrial aquafeed plant. Extruder type and dryer fuel drive most of the variation.
Do I need an extruder for fish feed?
For floating feed, yes — buoyancy comes from extrusion expansion. Sinking feed for some species can be produced on a pellet mill with steam conditioning, but water stability and oil inclusion are lower than extruded equivalents.
What determines fish feed water stability?
Starch gelatinisation in the extruder, binder selection in the formula, final moisture after drying, and pellet density. Write a minimum stability time in minutes into the acceptance test.