Fish · salmon grow-out

Salmon grow-out feed: sea-phase tonnage, energy and marine exposure

Salmon sea-phase feed is a high-energy extruded diet bought against a biomass plan for the whole cycle, not per delivery. Feed price tracks fish oil and fishmeal markets, so buyers specify pellet size steps, lipid and digestible energy, raw-material policy, certification and a price-adjustment basis before comparing offers.

Submit a feed project request All feed stages

Who buys at this stage

Marine cage and land-based farms contracting sea-phase volume with a delivery profile
Buyers whose retail customers impose certification and traceability requirements
Operations comparing suppliers on marine raw-material sourcing policy

Form and packaging

Pellet size steps with lipid and energy stated per size
Big bags or bulk transfer depending on site handling
Vessel, barge or silo delivery constraints stated in the RFQ

Commercial feed types

High-energy extruded grow-out pellets

Sizes stepped through the cycle; lipid inclusion is a defining specification point.

Transfer and early sea-phase diets

Specified separately where the programme uses them.

What the RFQ must specify

Smolt numbers, stocking weight, target harvest weight and cycle length
Recorded biological FCR and the resulting tonnage per period
Pellet size steps, lipid inclusion, omega-3 requirement and certification
Quantity per shipment and committed annual volume
Delivery point, port and preferred Incoterm
Delivery schedule and acceptable lead time
Packaging and pallet or bulk handling constraints
Certifications and documents required with each shipment
Currency, price basis and how long the price must hold

What moves the cost

Fish oil and fishmeal markets, and any replacement raw materials used
Extrusion and oil-coating energy cost
Certification demanded by your own customers
Logistics to remote marine sites and weather windows

Storage and shelf life

Site silo, barge or feed-barge capacity usually dictates delivery size
High-lipid feed needs stock turnover discipline to protect quality
Plan delivery windows around weather and vessel access

Certifications and documents to ask for

GMP+ B1 / FAMI-QS or an equivalent feed safety scheme
HACCP plan and the mill's own quality manual
Certificate of analysis per batch (proximate analysis, moisture)
Mycotoxin, salmonella and heavy-metal testing regime
Traceability of raw materials and batch numbering
Non-GMO, halal or organic certification where your market requires it
Country-specific feed registration and import documentation

Supplier evaluation checklist

Installed capacity against your monthly tonnage, not just the annual total
Evidence of supplying the same stage and pellet form commercially
Batch consistency record and how out-of-spec batches are handled
Lead time from order to delivery, and behaviour during raw-material volatility
Price basis: fixed, indexed to a named raw material, or reviewed periodically
Delivery capability to your point, Incoterm and vehicle or vessel constraints
Technical support available on-site and the escalation route when results slip

Worked commercial example

Illustrative arithmetic on the inputs shown — not a benchmark, a price or a performance promise. Replace every figure with your own.

· 500,000 smolts, 100 g to 4.5 kg, 92% survival
· Biological FCR 1.20, 2% feed loss
· Delivered extruded feed 1,650 per tonne

→ Harvest biomass ≈ 2,070 t
→ Feed ≈ 2,585 t per cycle, ≈ 162 t a month on average
→ Feed cost per kg harvested ≈ 2.06 — contract on the schedule, not one drop

Size the volume first

Other fish stages

Tilapia fingerling feed Tilapia grow-out feed Catfish grow-out feed Trout grow-out feed Seabass grow-out feed Seabream grow-out feed

Questions buyers ask

What drives salmon feed price?

Mostly marine raw-material markets — fish oil and fishmeal — together with the replacement ingredients used and extrusion energy. That is why an indexed or periodically reviewed price basis is common at this scale.

How much feed does a sea-phase cycle need?

Biomass gain multiplied by your recorded biological FCR, plus feed loss. The salmon feed budget calculator turns smolt numbers, harvest weight and survival into tonnes per cycle and per month.

Does FeedMatch guarantee biological FCR?

No. FeedMatch does not guarantee performance, price or supply, and every supplier introduction is reviewed by our team before it is made.

How the request is handled

You submit the requirement, a person at FeedMatch reviews it, and only then are qualified suppliers approached on your behalf. Offers come back normalised to the same delivered basis so they can actually be compared. No supplier receives your details automatically and no introduction happens without that review.

Submit a feed project request

FeedMatch Group is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. We are not a feed manufacturer, trader, nutritionist, veterinarian or lender, and we do not guarantee prices, supply, FCR or animal performance. Figures on this page are indicative commercial planning ranges, not specifications. Every requirement is reviewed by a person before any supplier is approached, and no supplier receives your details automatically. Last reviewed 16 September 2026.